Naples, "Drug Dealers Pay Protection to the Mazzarella Clan": Shocking wiretaps in the Forcella and Case Nuove squares.

Naples – It's not just a matter of direct management. In Mazzarella's vast and widespread Neapolitan organized crime empire, territorial control is achieved through meticulous and unscrupulous parallel taxation.

Anyone who independently opens a drug dealing hub doesn't enjoy immunity: they have to pay. They must apply for permission, obtain investiture, and pay a periodic tax for criminal land occupation. This is what emerges from the preliminary injunction issued last March, a dossier that sheds light on the clan's financial mechanisms and the internal tensions that shake the clan's foundations.

The conversations obtained by investigators offer a raw and cinematic glimpse into the internal dynamics of the criminal organization. Not just neighborhood whispers, but intercepted conversations that reveal a system of cross-extortion, double-crossing, fragile alliances, and rigidly enforced criminal interest rates.

The Pizzo Map: Forcella, the Decumani, and the New Houses

At the heart of the investigation are the economic dynamics linked to drug sales outlets formally managed by third parties but strictly subject to the clan's authorization. A significant picture emerges on June 30, 2023, when Eduardo Buonerba, speaking with his brother Pasquale, points the finger at the brothers Pasquale and Domenico De Martino (known in the community as the "Caciottas"), longtime managers of drug dealing hubs between Forcella and the Decumani districts linked to the Mazzarellas.

“Now he's playing the sycophant, now he wants to look for money too” — comment the Buonerbas, highlighting how the De Martinos were trying to juggle previous agreements with the top brass (in particular with Michele Mazzarella, who in the past had allegedly renounced what was due in exchange for a supply of drugs) and their new economic appetites.

A precarious balance, in which the line between organic membership in the "System" and extortionate imposition becomes thin, fueling discontent and internal feuds.

Two thousand euros a month and "protection" from punitive raids

Even more explicit is what was recorded on August 3, 2023, in a meeting between Eduardo Buonerba, his brother-in-law Salvatore Di Caprio, and Antonio Bonavolta. At the heart of the meeting was the recovery of extortion debts from MR, who ran a first-floor "weed" market in the Case Nuove area.

The rule is strict: two thousand euros a month, divided into fortnightly installments. This often-missed deadline risked triggering a violent reaction from the clan's "drummers." In the conversation, DiCaprio admits to shielding the woman to avoid a punitive raid:

“The installment is two thousand euros a month… now what happened, that last month we already covered it at …omissis…, because Gaetano Galiero came down… they wanted to go and cause trouble up at the lady’s house”.
The intervention of internal guarantors - such as Lulù (Vincenzo Caldarelli) - served to avoid the implosion of the system and to guarantee the regular collection of the bribe, confirming that every street corner designated for drug dealing is subject to a rigid mafia price list.

Betrayals and illegal squares: the internal rift

The picture painted by the investigation shows an organization under pressure not only from judicial inquiries, but also from ongoing friction among its members. In wiretaps from October 24, 2023, Eduardo Buonerba openly attacks his brother-in-law Salvatore Di Caprio, accused of allowing an unidentified woman to open a new drug dealing hub in San Giovanni a Carbonara without the consensus of the top management.

A clear sign of how control of the streets is not only an inexhaustible source of cash, but also the primary battleground for power-sharing within the Mazzarella clan, where every devotion or transgression comes at a high price.