Arzano, the 167 clan: murders and innocent victims. The long trail of blood that has stained the city.

Arzano – Bullets, knockouts, and murders were committed by a criminal cartel, the Monfregolo-Cristiano-Mormile clan, associates of boss Renato Napoleone and Francesco Paolo Russo. Dangerously underestimated over the years, the cartel was able to rely – according to investigations and the testimonies of several informants – on institutional cover-ups that allowed it to anticipate the actions of law enforcement.

Having appropriated the name of the working-class neighborhood 167 on Via Colombo, a subservient to the Amato-Pagano drug gang, since 2014 it has left several victims on the streets, including innocent victims and numerous injuries unrelated to any criminal activity. Naturally, judicial investigations have brought the organization's leaders to justice, with over 50 arrests over the years, but it appears to have a strong capacity for regeneration, especially through new recruits, no longer necessarily directly connected to the cartel.

Their relationship with politics has also been evolving, so much so that the clan has even been able, in some areas, to nominate and indirectly elect their own representatives. And to do this, they "needed" to instill fear.

The long trail of blood began in 2014.

The newly formed 167 clan was taking shape, alliances were being forged, but the essential thing—according to numerous investigations—was the elimination of Moccia boss Ciro Casone, then in charge but abandoned by his own allies in Casoria and Afragola. The men of the Via Colombo cartel knew this, and on the evening of February 26 of that year, they opened fire on the "Solero" tanning salon on Via L. Rocco (later discovered to be owned by Moccia affiliates), regardless of the innocent person they were dealing with, Salvatore Ferrante, killing them both.

The killers didn't hesitate to hit the woman in the head with the butt of their gun, even when she tried to block their path after seeing Casone collapse. According to investigative reports from the time, the killers, again the same ones, even showed up at the murdered mobster's home to offer their condolences to his widow, as if nothing had happened.

The investigation into the double homicide provides a glimpse into a criminal conspiracy stemming from the Amato-Pagano branch, led by Renato Napoleone, considered the true god and a loyal follower of Rosaria Pagano. Thanks to cross-referencing the statements of four collaborators of justice, the anti-mafia prosecutor Vincenza Marra and the Carabinieri of the Castello di Cisterna company were able to frame the alleged perpetrators. However, all those accused of those crimes were sensationally acquitted on appeal and sentenced to life imprisonment in the first instance.

A Gomorrah-style ambush for which yesterday the judges of the Fourth Court of Assizes of Naples acquitted Renato Napoleone (accused of instigating the attack), Francesco Paolo Russo, known as "Cicciariello," and Angelo Antonio Gambino. On October 26, 2017, another member of the Moccia clan from Arzano, Raffaele Russo, known as "cartolandia," was targeted by the Camorra. This sensational ambush was carried out even outside the Secondigliano prison—surrounded by security cameras—where Russo was under semi-guard and was confronted by the killers, who unloaded a full magazine into him, leaving him unconscious on the spot.

On November 24, 2021, a massacre nearly occurred at the Roxy bar on Via Silone. Twenty shell casings were found on the scene, mixed with a lava of blood. Two killers arrived on motorcycles and killed Salvatore Petrillo, 29, nephew of the now-repentant boss Pasquale Cristiano. The previous June, Cristiano had been arrested for parading through the streets of Arzano in a Ferrari and Lamborghini—along with his brother-in-law Vincenzo Mormile, the governor of the municipalities of Frattaminore and Frattamaggiore—in celebration of his son's First Communion. Cristiano also made headlines for having a huge hot tub filled with seawater installed on the attic of his home using tankers.

Returning to Petrillo's killing, Vincenzo Pio Merolla and Luigi Casola, who were wounded but escaped death, were also among the victims. Investigators believed them to be close to the Arzano 167 clan. What was puzzling was the cold-bloodedness of the killers, who, in order to kill Petrillo, didn't hesitate to also shoot two bar patrons, the two workers MA and RL. Although they were completely unfamiliar with criminal behavior, one of them suffered injuries after being wounded, and one of them suffered injuries while walking. On March 17, 2022, at 8:00 PM, the hitmen entered a recreational club on Via Pecchia. Only luck would have it that the club's patrons, seeing the two men with their faces covered and holding weapons, closed the door. But this did not stop the two criminals who began shooting at the crowd through the cracks in the door with a 9x21 caliber pistol, wounding Antonio Alterio (a leading member of the 167 clan) and DL, a man with no criminal record, who was also injured.

In true Mafia style, the clan's men didn't hesitate to threaten the local police chief, Biagio Chiariello, who ordered the forced eviction of members and their families from the apartments in District 167 and the demolition of illegal homes within the same neighborhood. Two local journalists were also targeted, whose investigations sparked a series of investigations by the Anti-Mafia. Meanwhile, not even the informants have revealed the background to the murders, which leaves many doubts about their credibility, which has been undermined by the numerous investigations and arrests made possible by the efforts of the Carabinieri and the police.

The clash within the clan: Two dead and one injured in two months.

Two deaths, including the innocent Rosario Coppola and a wounded man with no criminal record, marked the evolution of the 167 clan, sparked by a feud that erupted within the criminal group. Five attacks, a life cut short by mistake. It is from this brutal chain that the investigation by the Naples District Anti-Mafia Directorate and the Carabinieri of Castello di Cisterna stems, reaching a breakthrough with eleven arrests. Two murders, occurring within weeks of each other, are thought to be the culmination of an internal feud within the splinter groups for control of the territory, involving drugs and extortion. On the evening of February 4th, on Via Barone, the man killed was Rosario Coppola, a 52-year-old house painter with no criminal background.

He was returning home after an evening with a friend AP when he was hit by five bullets fired at point-blank range, also hitting the man with no criminal record in the arm. Investigators determined that he was not the target. The killer was apparently misled by the white Smart car he was traveling in, which was identical to that of the real target: Davide Pescatore, recently released from prison and believed to be a factor capable of disrupting the balance of power. According to the prosecutor's office and the Carabinieri, the person who ordered the attack was Salvatore Romano, 33, considered the regent of the Amato-Pagano clan in Arzano.

The goal was to eliminate Pescatore and regain centrality within the organization, after he had been progressively marginalized. The plan, prepared with a lengthy stakeout outside the intended victim's home, tragically failed. A few weeks later, on March 7th, another ambush closed the circle: the murderer was Armando Lupoli, identified by investigators as the killer responsible for the "mistake." And even if the dead don't speak, the criminal press does.

This crime appears to be part of the same context of internal tension and reinforces the connection between the two cases, both arising from conflict within the same group. The new order, signed by preliminary investigations judge Donatella Bove of the Court of Naples on May 14, confirms and renews the detention order already issued on April 21 by the DDA against eleven individuals, now expanding the precautionary framework to 17 total suspects.

The precautionary measures concern Antonio Caiazza (aka Ac), Davide Pescatore (pale 'e fierro), Francesco Attrice (Francuccio 'o ferraro), Mattia Rea (known as 'the Chinese), Pietroangelo Leotta (nicknamed 'o chiatto), Salvatore Romano (Sasi), Raffaele Silvestro, Giuseppe Monfregolo ('o guallarus), Renato Napoleone, Domenico Russo ('o mussuto in the Camorra registry), Salvatore Bussola (known as scarulella), Mario D'Aria (Marittiello), Raffaele Alterio ('Vavarone), Raffaele Piscopo ('o biondo), Giovanni Gambino, Antonio Alterio ('o spiegamonte), and Andrea Olivello. All have been ordered to be held in custody. Three other individuals are under investigation at large: Salvatore Lupoli, Umberto Lupoli, and Vittorio Scognamiglio.

PB

Chronicles of Campania

24 June 2026

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Podcast AudioArzano Clan Della 167 Murders and Innocent Victims The Long Trail of Blood That Has Dirtied the City 2026 05 20The…