Protection rackets for the Amato Pagano clan between Giugliano and Mugnano: two tax collectors in jail

"Tell 'o mast to stop by his friends in Mugnano, otherwise you won't be working tomorrow," was an order from Angelo Ceparano, a 31-year-old from Giugliano, that the employee of a sewer maintenance company couldn't ignore. Realizing he was dealing with Camorra-style intimidation, he alerted his employer, who reported the incident.

After an initial unsuccessful request, the 31-year-old returned to the construction site in Giugliano in Campania, and this time police officers from the Giugliano police station were also monitoring his presence.

The Amato-Pagano clan was charged with extortion for sewer maintenance in Giugliano in Campania.

Angelo Ceparano, in fact, having discovered that his "invitation" to visit the "friends of Mugnano" had fallen on deaf ears, returned to the construction site on August 26, 2026, two days after his first request, and this time the threat was more serious: "Didn't anyone come to Mugnano yesterday? If they don't come, I'll shoot you." At that point, the police handcuffed him on charges of extortion aggravated by mafia methods and transferred him to the Secondigliano prison.

But investigations by the Naples DDA have confirmed that the extortion victim company wasn't the only one under attack by the Camorra. In the area where the Amato-Pagano clan's criminal law operates, between Mugnano, Marano, and Giugliano, other business owners were blackmailed by the gang's "errand boys."

Ceparano and Balido extorted the owner of a car wash in Mugnano.

Ceparano, who was recently served with a precautionary custody order issued by investigating judge Fabrizia Fiore of the Naples Court, was charged with another extortion case involving the owner of a car wash in Mugnano.

The man forced to pay protection money to Mugnano's "friends" had reported himself as a victim of the criminal group on July 28 of this year. The complaint filed with the Carabinieri of Marano di Napoli led to the identification of Angelo Ceparano and his accomplice, Rosario Balido, aka Uncle Rosario, 71, from San Marcellino. The man was arrested today by the Carabinieri of the Marano di Napoli company's operational unit at the request of the Naples Anti-Mafia Directorate.

The victim, forced to pay the extortion money since 2021, had been subjected to severe threats last July. The initial extortion demand was €5 per year, later reduced to €2500.

The small business owner also managed to secure a payment extension in installments, in 700 euro installments, paid to Angelo Ceparano or Rosario Balido, who would show up at the business on behalf of Mugnano's gang. Last November, to intimidate the victim, Angelo Ceparano and Rosario Balido had placed a padlock on the car wash gate. In July, the business owner—unable to pay the 700 euro installment—wanted to hand over 500 euros, but debt collector Angelo Ceparano was adamant. "No, you have to give me 700 euros or I won't let you open the door tomorrow," and then the "compromise": "Give me 500 euros and tomorrow you'll give me 800."

The victim's complaint and the Carabinieri's investigation, carried out also thanks to the area's video surveillance systems, allowed them to identify Ceparano and Balido, who had introduced themselves as Angelo and 'Uncle Rosario' respectively.

According to investigators, the suspects identified themselves as members of the "Amato-Pagano" clan, a mafia organization operating in the area north of Naples. This morning, Ceparano and Balido were arrested for extortion aggravated by mafia methods.