The secrets of the Caivano Bronx: 25 euros a month paid to boss 'Tibiuccio' to keep drug dealing centers open.

Caivano – The economic heart of the Caivano Camorra beat to the rhythm of ruthless accounting. Twenty-five thousand euros a month: this was the price the local drug trafficking ring leaders had to regularly pay into the coffers of the system's undisputed boss, Antonio Angelino, known as Tibiuccio (arrested in June 2023).

A heavy toll, documented in black and white in the approximately 1,200 pages of the precautionary custody order signed by preliminary investigations judge Lucia De Micco, which crystallizes the outcome of the raid conducted by the Carabinieri under coordination of the Naples DDA.

A clear picture of this massive financial and criminal network emerges forcefully from the statements of justice collaborators, particularly those made by the informer Raffaele Bervicato. This investigative framework redefines the geography of crime in the northern area of ​​Naples, revealing how the center of gravity of the criminal underworld gradually shifted from the infamous Parco Verde to the public housing blocks on Via Atellana, an impregnable fortress infamously known as the Bronx.

The revelations of the informants: the voice of collaborator Raffaele Bervicato

In the folds of court documents, the collaborators' statements reveal the unfiltered grammar of mafia power. Raffaele Bervicato explains in detail the mechanisms of extortion and management of the squares:
“I want to point out that the head of the drug system was Raffaele Zambella, before he was arrested, who paid Angelino Antonio 25.000 or 20.000 euros a month to manage the drugs in Caivano and the Bronx; in the green park, Zambella's group operated in only one square, the one on the Padre Pio side. After Zambella was arrested, management of the drugs passed to Pinuccio, his brother-in-law, and to Alessandro Maugeri. Then the latter was also arrested and therefore everything passed to Pinuccio and Roberto Maugeri and his group.”

A rigid, pyramidal structure, protected by blood ties, where operational continuity was guaranteed even after the arrest. This closed and uncompromising chain of command is confirmed by the wiretaps and technical activities conducted by investigators. A particularly emblematic example is the verbal exchange intercepted inside a residence between Roberto Alfio Maugeri and Pasquale Avallone:

Roberto: “Yes yes, Pasquale, when tomorrow is the day we'll talk, you, Mario, and Pinuccio, that's it.”
Pasquale: “And that’s it.”
Roberto: "Everything else in the toilet. And tomorrow I'll show you where we are, they shouldn't be there. I already told them that."

The split from Parco Verde and the rise of the Via Atellana fort

The creation of the Bronx cartel wasn't just a response to economic expansion, but also a truly strategic move dictated by the investigative emergency. The reasons for this forced relocation were clarified by informant Mariano Vasapollo during an interrogation on October 12, 2022:

Subsequently, after the death of Antonio Natale (October 4, 2021, ed.), Zambella moved and also moved all the drug dealing areas in the Green Park to the Bronx. In fact, since Natale was not around, there was a large movement of Carabinieri and police, and therefore it was no longer possible to work properly in the Green Park. For this reason, Zambella, together with Giovanni Ciccarelli, decided to move the drug dealing areas to the Bronx.

An irreparable rift developed immediately after the discovery of the body of young Antonio Natale. Giovanni Ciccarelli—a figure historically linked to the Secondigliano Alliance, and therefore to the Contini, Mallardo, and Licciardi clans—had demanded the immediate return of the squares to Parco Verde to support the many detained members. Faced with Zambella's firm refusal, the mafia scene risked total collapse:

“At this point, since Giovanni Ciccarelli is linked to the Secondigliano Alliance… he sent for some people from Giugliano who, after the meeting with Giovanni Ciccarelli, went to the Bronx to Zambella, telling him that since Giovanni Ciccarelli had so many prisoners to feed, it was right that these squares return to the green park and if this did not happen, these individuals from the Secondigliano Alliance said they would return to Caivano and start a war against Zambella's group.”

From iron to weapons: the military rise of the Maugeri and total control of the territory

The group's stability was based not only on economic strength, but also on a marked propensity for armed violence and a forceful response against dissidents or anyone who challenged the organization's authority. Internal and external conflict fueled injuries and punitive expeditions, as Mariano Vasapollo recalls in his reconstruction of the chain of command and the bloody incidents that stained the area:

I know that Alessandro's uncle was also present when Natale Luigi was slapped. Marrone Mauro told me this, and he revealed to me who all the individuals present at the incident were, and that they were part of the same group called the Bronx gang, headed by Zambella, but still under Tibiuccio's command.

Under the final regency of Roberto Alfio Maugeri, who took over after the subsequent arrests of Zambella and Alessandro Maugeri, the cartel continued to provide the money needed to keep boss Angelino in prison. The picture painted by the DDA thus paints a picture of a sprawling organization: a fully-fledged clan that, in addition to monopolizing the narcotics market, gripped the Caivano area with a grip of terror through systematic extortion, beatings, and lead mats.

(in the photo the Bronx buildings of Caivano and from top left the two informants Raffaele Bervicato and Mariano Vasapollo and then the boss Antonio Angelino known as Tibiuccio, Roberto Zambella and Roberto Alfio Maugeri)