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ALEX POLLARO SPEAKS

Afragola, the confessions of the repentant: "This is how the Nobiles betrayed the Moccias."

The unpublished statements of justice collaborator Alex Pollaro reveal the background of the new Camorra in the Neapolitan hinterland.
Judicial Chronicle
Reading time 2 min
Joseph Del Gaudio
Joseph Del Gaudio
The Salicelle district, the leaders of the Nobile clan, and the repentant Alex Pollaro
The Salicelle district, the leaders of the Nobile clan, and the repentant Alex Pollaro
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Naples – There is a new, ferocious criminal generation that walks briskly through the alleys of Afragola and the Salicelle buildings. A generation that has erased the old hierarchies, that doesn't tremble before the "white-collar" workers of the traditional Camorra, and that uses blind violence as the only passport to respect.

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The secrets of the "Panzarottari" group, the criminal faction led by the Nobile family that in recent years has achieved criminal autonomy on the territory on the blood of the historic hegemony of the Moccia clan, are being unravelled.

Alex Pollaro, born in 1998, has decided to take the plunge. His interrogation before magistrates of the Naples District Anti-Mafia Office, led by Public Prosecutors Ilaria Sasso del Verme and Giorgia De Ponte, sheds light on a reality of raids, orders issued via smartphone from prison cells, and punitive expeditions costing thousands of euros a week.

"I joined the panzarottari gang when I was released from prison in 2024," Pollaro states on record, describing a bond rooted in childhood, in the apparent normality of tough neighborhoods. "I'd known and hung out with the panzarottari since I was a child; we played soccer together and saw each other almost every day." But soccer was soon replaced by guns and territorial control.

The independent climb and the insult to the Moccias

For years, the Panzarottari operated in the shadow of the Moccia clan, the historic and powerful mafia organization in Afragola. The pact was clear: extort with the approval of Colonels Michele Puzio, known as "Uccione," and Giovanni Tuccillo. But at a certain point, the Nobiles decided that splitting the pie was no longer worthwhile. They began extorting under the table. The money no longer went into the clan's common fund to support prisoners and affiliates.

"In the past, I know that Michele Puzio, known as Uccione, complained that Raffaele Nobile's group was engaging in underhand extortion and was not handing over all the proceeds to the Moccia family for the support of Moccia clan members and inmates, as they should have done." An intolerable outrage that unleashed gunfire: "I was also told that, precisely in the context of disagreements over the failure to hand over all the proceeds of the Nobiles' extortion, there was a firefight between the Nobiles and Michele Puzio's men, known as Uccione... Also participating in the shootout was... omitted..."

With subsequent arrests and the beginning of Puzio's and other regents' collaboration with the justice system, such as Alessandro, the space widened. The Nobiles finally cut ties: "The Nobiles were no longer required to pay the extortion proceeds into the Moccia clan's coffers and managed the extortion activities independently... For three or four years, they also began to manage drug trafficking."

(In the photo, the Salicelle district of Afragola and, from top left, the boss Raffaele Nobile, his son Antonio, known as Spiedino, his nephew Antonio, known as Topolone, and the repentant Alex Pollaro)

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Editorials (1)

I read the article and it seems to be an important piece of reporting, but it's also too concise. Many things remain inconsistent and lack explanations; the names are mixed up and the quotes seem confusing. The story is hard to understand; it seems to have been written in a hurry without careful verification, and this leaves many doubts about its completeness.

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