'I'll send your phone to your cell and pay for your groceries': this is how the Mazzarella clan manages prisoner welfare.

Naples – Prison isn't a destination, but rather an advanced front in the mafia war. The thousand-plus pages of the precautionary order signed by the Naples Court's preliminary investigations judge, Gianluigi Visco, reveal with the precision of a corporate balance sheet the criminal welfare structure managed by the leaders of the Mazzarella clan and its affiliated families.

At the heart of this mutual assistance mechanism are periodic salaries paid to inmate members, the payment of legal fees, and above all a network of daily contacts made up of clandestine phone calls, Nike TN shoes smuggled behind bars, and pressure on lawyers to adjust their positions in court.

As the investigating judge emphasized in his preliminary ruling, the existence of a periodic salary and a common fund presupposes a stable and complex structure, where nothing is left to chance.

The common fund and the 500 euros for maintenance

The clan's financial stability is based on a steady flow of money. On July 3, 2023, during a wiretapped conversation between Eduardo Buonerba and his sister-in-law, the financial pact between the federated families clearly emerges. Regarding the relationship with the Mazzarellas, Buonerba confirmed that their faction regularly paid Barattolo the sum of 500 euros earmarked specifically for the maintenance of his family's prisoners.

A system of protections that, however, clashes with internal dynamics and assessments of individual merit. On October 24, 2023, a long series of conversations between brothers Eduardo and Pasquale Buonerba analyze the role of their brother-in-law Salvatore Di Caprio, accused of making a meager contribution to the support of other long-time inmates such as Picone and Enzo D'Avino.

While DiCaprio hesitates, the Buonerbas close ranks to ensure the future loyalty of the inmates once they're released. Pasquale Buonerba bluntly explains his welfare strategy:

"Listen to me... we now... in fact I'm seeing what I have to do. I want to send him 50, 100 euros a week!!... every week... you can ask Maria... so how long are you keeping him in Picone?... it's separate... but for our family... for the Buonerba family... I send him 60 euros a week!! Outside of that I'll let him manage... this is something that... what comes out... same thing as Enzo Davino."

Cell phone calls and interviews in Poggioreale: the direct line to the bosses

Thanks to smuggled cell phones, detention dissolves all physical barriers. On November 17, 2023, and again on December 10, 2023, Luciano Barattolo engages in intense telephone conversations with Rosario Ciro Mazio, an inmate in the Poggioreale prison in Naples.
In the November interview, Barattolo promises Mazio a new device:

«I would have soon arranged for other people to get him another phone… no, don't make them come, brother, you have to die, I hear it every day, I'm really happy, you have to die, I would keep him with me, you know, brother… do you understand?».

Mazio, for his part, reassures the boss about the time slots in which the terminal can be turned on without risking seizures:

«Whatever you call me, always during the day, from morning until evening, I always keep it, for example, from eight thirty to nine, then I put it down, do you understand?».
In Poggioreale prison, Mazio also shares a cell with a cousin of Barattolo himself, a detail that further strengthens their blood and mafia ties. Before ending the call, the boss's recommendation is peremptory:
“I love you, be careful… don’t argue with anyone.”

Christmas behind bars: packages, Nike TN shoes, and greetings for inmates

The care of the members knows no pause, not even on holidays. On December 25, 2023, listening to the wiretaps revealed an almost domestic scene, yet steeped in criminal logic. Through an inmate identified as Totore, Barattolo arranged for "a gift" and gifts to be delivered to another inmate member originally from Saviano.

It is Totore himself who dictates the wish list to the boss, asking for a package by the end of the month and a very specific pair of shoes:
«You have to send me the TN (Nike brand sneaker model)».

The day of celebration ends with mutual greetings and a reiterated commitment to Salvatore Del Prete:
"Whatever you do, always call me brother, do you understand?… This is my number, do you understand? I love you, you have to die for me… Have a great day."