Pimonte: The murder of mafia boss Raffaele Afeltra reignites the Monti Lattari feud.

Pimonte – An execution in perfect mountain guerrilla style, carried out in the very fortress the boss believed impregnable. The death of Raffaele Afeltra, 69, known in organized crime circles as 'o Burraccione, is not a simple settling of scores: it is a blow destined to reshape the criminal balance between the slopes of the Lattari Mountains, Gragnano, and the Stabia area.

The ambush in the green patch: the same technique as the boss

The shooter knew the habits of Afeltra by heart. The crime took place in the Zappino area, a short distance from the church of the Madonna del Pino, an area where the sixty-nine-year-old often spent his days tending to his animals. The ambush was launched unexpectedly: the gunmen were camouflaged in the thick vegetation lining the road, waiting for the right moment to fire.

A veritable ambush that mimics, in a cruel and symbolic retaliation, the same guerrilla warfare technique used in the 1980s by the criminal group for which Afeltra was a focal point. What's more, he was killed with the weapon the boss himself favored and mastered, a 12-gauge shotgun. The point-blank shots disfigured the boss's face, sending a message of defiance and "erasure" that the District Anti-Mafia Directorate is now deciphering.

The Years of Lead and the feud with the D'Alessandros

With Afeltra's elimination, a dossier of Camorra history has been reopened, one that was thought to have been consigned to the archives and courtrooms. Between the late 1980s and early 1990s, 'o Burraccione was one of the key protagonists in the bloody feud fought shoulder to shoulder with Umberto Mario Imparato and Francesco Di Martino (known as Cicco 'o Capraro).

That brutal war against the D'Alessandro clan of Castellammare di Stabia left over a hundred dead, also staining itself with the blood of innocent victims. A history of assaults, ambushes in the woods, and territorial control strategies that marked the rise of the Pimonte-Agerola criminal axis.

An intricate web of golden kinship

Afeltra's profile is intertwined with the top names of the local Camorra. The boss was, in fact, the brother-in-law of Giuseppe Gentile, the Agerola clan leader, and was related through his wife to Leonardo Di Martino, nicknamed 'o lione, a historic leader of the group in the Iuvani area.

Adding to the tension is Afeltra's deep historical and neighborly ties with Francesco Di Martino. The two lived a short distance apart in the Gesinelle area, a place tragically infamous for the mid-90s massacre that killed three people (including Di Martino's brother) and injured a fourth. Last but not least, Afeltra boasted a close, long-standing friendship with Antonino Di Lorenzo, known as 'o lignammone, who was murdered in Casola in 2019.

The long period of hiding and the surrender in Siena

In December 2018, the boss managed to escape the Olimpo raid by the Naples Anti-Mafia Directorate (the same one that targeted Stabia-based entrepreneur Adolfo Greco and Teresa Martone, widow of the deceased godfather Michele D'Alessandro). He remained on the run for approximately three months before deciding to voluntarily turn himself in to the authorities.

On March 23, 2019, Afeltra appeared in prison in San Gimignano, in the province of Siena. He had been charged with extortion against a businessman from Agerola.

The Olimpo investigation had reconstructed the existence of relationships and alliances between the main criminal groups in the area: D'Alessandro, Cesarano, Di Martino, and Afeltra. According to investigators, the organizations continued to exert extortionist pressure in their respective territories.

Afeltra would later serve a new final sentence for extortion aggravated by mafia methods. He had been free for about three years, according to today's news reports.

The territory has never stopped being observed

Recent history shows how fragile the criminal balance in the Lattari area remains.
In 2018, the murder of Filippo Sabatino in Pimonte had already raised alarm among investigators about the potential resurgence of conflict. The crime occurred in an area historically considered close to the Afeltra-Di Martino clan.

More recently, in February 2026, the Naples DDA arrested two men in the investigation into the murder and disappearance of Carmine Zurlo, who was allegedly killed in 2022 and never found. Investigators traced the alleged perpetrators to the Afeltra-Di Martino clan.

This makes last night's murder even more significant. The question now is: who decided to eliminate him? This is the crux of the investigation.

The hands of the narcos and the widespread racket

The Afeltra murder opens up complex investigative horizons for the Carabinieri of the Torre Annunziata Investigative Unit and the Castellammare di Stabia Company.

Whoever decided to eliminate 'o Burraccione knew the enormous risks of an armed response from the alliance of the historic families. The main lead pursued by investigators leads directly to the "new blood" of drug trafficking in the Lattari Mountains, now a veritable stronghold of cannabis production and drug dealing.

Although Afeltra had historically stayed away from drug trafficking, its name evoked the "old school" of systematic and meticulous extortion. It exacted extortion with extreme precision and controlled local economic dynamics.

Investigators do not rule out the possibility that the decision to eliminate him stemmed from a short circuit between the racketeering's old guard and the new blood of drug traffickers, hungry for autonomy and ready to do anything to overturn the old balance and seize total control of the territory.

The attack on Afeltra could also be interpreted as a settling of scores from the past, but there is currently insufficient evidence to confirm this. Investigators will need to determine whether the murder stems from old feuds, financial interests, deteriorated relationships, or a new reshuffle of the criminal network in the Lattari Mountains.

For this reason, more than a simple ambush, the murder of Raffaele Afeltra risks becoming a new observation point on the criminal balance of power in Pimonte and the entire Stabia area.

The Carabinieri are now working to reconstruct the 68-year-old's last movements, identify any witnesses, and acquire footage from security cameras along the route. These elements, along with ballistic tests, will provide the first answers regarding the circumstances of the execution and the identity of the person who pulled the trigger.