The Casalesi clan is a clan within the
Camorra, an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
criminal organization, operating from
Casal di Principe and
San Cipriano d'Aversa
San Cipriano d'Aversa () is an Italian commune and municipality in the Province of Caserta, region of Campania, located about northwest of Naples and about southwest of Caserta. The town is located on the territory of Agro aversano - a rural area ...
in the province of
Caserta
Caserta () is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Camp ...
between
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
and
Latium
Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire.
Definition
Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...
. Formed by
Antonio Bardellino
Antonio Bardellino (; May 4, 1945 – May 26, 1988) was a powerful Neapolitan '' Camorrista'' and boss of the Casalesi clan, having a prominent role in the organized crime in the province of Caserta during the 1980s. He was one of the last of the ...
, it is a confederation of clans in the Caserta area. The Casalesi clan is believed to be one of the most powerful groups within the Camorra, specialising in construction and keeping a lower profile than clans that focus on drug dealing.
[Mafia bosses held meetings in police station]
The Guardian, September 29, 2007
History
In the 1980s, Bardellino realized that
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
, not
heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
, would become the more profitable drug and organized a trafficking operation smuggling it from
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
to
Aversa
Aversa () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy, about 24 km north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the ''Agro Aversano'', producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical bu ...
via a fish flour import-export business. Heroin was smuggled as well, and shipments to the
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Ame ...
were concealed inside espresso filters. When one shipment was intercepted by the authorities, Bardellino reportedly called
John Gotti and told him; "Don't worry, now we're sending twice as much another way".
[Saviano,''Gomorrah'', p. ?]
During the Camorra war of the 1980s, the Casalesi sided with
Nuova Famiglia
The Nuova Famiglia (Italian: "New Family") was an Italian Camorra confederation created in the 1970s and headed by the most powerful Camorra bosses of the time, Carmine Alfieri, the Nuvoletta brothers, Michele Zaza, Luigi Giuliano and Antonio Ba ...
against
Raffaele Cutolo
Raffaele Cutolo (; 4 November 1941 – 17 February 2021) was an Italian crime boss, leader of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata (NCO), an organisation he built to renew the Camorra. Cutolo had a variety of nicknames including o Vangelo'' ("the gosp ...
. In one incident, Casalesi members positioned a machine gun on a hill in Ponte Annicchino and opened fire, killing four Cutolo members. After the Casalesi achieved dominance in their area following the defeat of Cutolo, Antonio Bardellino settled in
Santo Domingo
, total_type = Total
, population_density_km2 = auto
, timezone = AST (UTC −4)
, area_code_type = Area codes
, area_code = 809, 829, 849
, postal_code_type = Postal codes
, postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional)
, websi ...
with his family. But unrest grew within the Casalesi.
Heading up the clan's military operations were
Francesco Schiavone and
Francesco Bidognetti
Francesco Bidognetti (born January 21, 1951, in Casal di Principe) is a powerful Italian Camorrista. He is the chief lieutenant of Francesco Schiavone, boss of the Casalesi clan from Casal di Principe in the province of Caserta, and head of th ...
, and they thought Bardellino's right-hand man Mario Iovine was too close to Bardellino but did not approve of their plans for autonomy. They convinced Bardellino to order the murder of Iovine's brother, and then told Iovine that Bardellino had his brother killed based purely on a rumour. Iovine murdered Bardellino in retaliation in his
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian villa in 1988, meeting him under the pretext of discussing their cocaine operation. A number of men loyal to Bardellino were subsequently murdered.
Francesco Schiavone took over as leader. In the early 1990s another war broke out between Schiavone's men and those loyal to another boss, Vincenzo de Falco, who was shot dead in 1991. During this war Mario Iovine was also killed, sprayed by bullets by de Falco's men while in a telephone booth in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. The war lasted four years.
The clan was heavily involved in the
Naples waste management crisis
The Naples waste management crisis is a series of events surrounding the lack of waste collection and illegal toxic waste dumping in and around the Province of Naples (now known as the Metropolitan City of Naples), Campania, Italy, beginning in t ...
that dumped toxic waste around Campania in the 1990s and 2000s; the boss of the clan, Gaetano Vassallo, admitted to systematically working for 20 years to bribe local politicians and officials to gain their acquiescence to dumping toxic waste. In March 2004, Francesco Schiavone's cousin, Francesco Cicciariello Schiavone, was arrested in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and charged with 10 homicides, three kidnappings, nine attempted homicides and extortion.
[Arrestato boss della camorra, preso seguendo l'amante]
La Repubblica, March 13, 2004
Spartacus trial
Following his arrest, all the police investigations into the clan were grouped together in the
Spartacus Trial
The Spartacus Maxi-Trial(Italian: Processo Spartacus) was a series of criminal trials, each specifically directed against the activities of the powerful Casalesi clan of the Camorra. The trial was opened at the Corte d'Assise of Santa Maria Capu ...
. Over 1,300 people were investigated and 500 witness took the stand. The trial against 36 members of the Casalesi clan finally concluded on June 19, 2008, after 10-years. Over the course of the trial five people involved in the case were murdered, including an interpreter. A judge and two journalists received death threats.
[Mafia godfathers jailed for life in landmark murder trial]
The Daily Telegraph, June 20, 2008
All defendants were found guilty and 16 will never be released.
Francesco Schiavone, his lieutenant,
Francesco Bidognetti
Francesco Bidognetti (born January 21, 1951, in Casal di Principe) is a powerful Italian Camorrista. He is the chief lieutenant of Francesco Schiavone, boss of the Casalesi clan from Casal di Principe in the province of Caserta, and head of th ...
,
Antonio Iovine and
Michele Zagaria were given life sentences.
[«Processo Spartacus», 16 ergastoli ai Casalesi]
Corriere del Mezzogiorno, June 20, 2008
Current status
The clan was jointly ruled by Michele Zagaria and Antonio Iovine, until the latter's capture and arrest on November 17, 2010.[Italy police arrest top Camorra mafia boss]
BBC News, November 17, 2010 The clan was then led solely by Zagaria, until he too was captured on December 7, 2011. He was found in a bunker near his home province.Italy mafia boss Zagaria found in bunker – police
– BBC News, December 7, 2011 The Casalesi clan is heavily involved in the cement and milk industries as well as the international drug trade, supplying drugs to
the Mafia
"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
in
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
and having alliances with
Albanian mobsters and
Nigerian crime syndicates. Their total assets are estimated to be worth around 30 billion euros.
On September 18, 2008 six African immigrants were
shot dead at Castel Volturno in what is believed to be a dispute between the Casalesi and immigrant drug gangs. A riot followed the next day, and the Italian government deployed 500 troops in the area to deal with the outbreak of Camorra violence.
[Riot after Africans shot in Italy]
BBC News, September 19, 2008[Italy to send army to fight mafia]
BBC News, September 23, 2008
References
*
Saviano, Roberto,
Gomorrah', New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Mafia In Africa: How the Mafia Infiltrates the African Economy
{{Camorra
1980s establishments in Italy
Camorra clans
Transnational organized crime
Organized crime groups in Romania
Organised crime groups in Spain
Organized crime groups in Switzerland