Erminia Giuliano (; born December 31, 1955) is a former member of the

Giuliano clan The Giuliano clan was a powerful Neapolitan Camorra clan that had its base in the area of Forcella, in Naples. Its sphere of influence extended to all the centre of the city of Naples for over four decades. History The clan was founded by Pio Vi ...

of the Camorra, based in the district of

Forcella Fortana (also known as Canina ) is a red Italian wine grape variety grown primarily in the Emilia–Romagna region of northern Italy. A permitted grape variety in several ''Denominazione di origine controllatas'' (DOCs), mostly in Emilia, Fortana ...

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 ...

. Her nickname was ''Celeste'' ("Sky-blue") on account of her bright, blue eyes., The Independent, December 26, 2000Deadlier than the male
, The Scotsman, May 29, 2002

Taking over the Giuliano clan

She took over the Giuliano clan crime business after the arrest of her brother Luigi Giuliano in early 2000, who was the last of the five male family members to be arrested. Luigi would eventually become a

pentito ''Pentito'' (; lit. "repentant"; plural: ''pentiti'') is used colloquially to designate collaborators of justice in Italian criminal procedure terminology who were formerly part of criminal organizations and decided to collaborate with a public ...

in September 2002 and testify against various Camorra figures, including members of his own clan.Arrestata lady camorra: «Prima devo pettinarmi»
Corriere della Sera, December 24, 2000 She became the boss because the only direct male heir to the family business still unimprisoned, Giuliano's nephew Pio Vittorio Giuliano, was deemed inept.
New York Times, January 11, 2001 She was ranked as one of Italy's 30 most dangerous criminals, and eventually arrested on December 23, 2000, after being a fugitive for over 10 months.'Mob queen' found in cupboard
BBC News, December 24, 2000 Her speciality within the clan was counterfeiting banknotes.

Personality

She had a violent streak: if bored as a young woman she would say: "I have to shoot someone." She allegedly stabbed a rival female gang leader in 1997, and drove a car into the shop window of another enemy in 1999. One high-profile friend was the football star

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the F ...

when he played for

Napoli 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 ...

. The Giuliano clan’s interests included drugs and illegal betting on football matches. Carmine, one of Erminia's brothers, said later that Maradona would do anything for cocaine, even if Napoli lost the Italian championship.

Arrest

Police raided her daughter's house in the Forcella quarter of Naples shortly after midnight and found her in a secret room concealed behind a kitchen cupboard and a sliding wall panel. "She was a true leader, with all the qualities usually associated with crime godfathers," according to the Naples police chief, Carlo Gualdi.Deadly rise of girl power with guns
The Guardian, January 6, 2001 She insisted on a shower and visit from her hairdresser, before she donned high heels, a fake leopard-skin coat and handcuffs, and told her daughters: "I'm counting on you now. I am relaxed. I have taught you all the true values in life."

Release

Since her release from prison, Erminia Giuliano lives in

Formia Formia is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, on the Mediterranean coast of Lazio, Italy. It is located halfway between Rome and Naples, and lies on the Roman-era Appian Way. It has a population of 38,095. Istat 2017 History ...

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. In 2019, the Italian State seized her assets due to a patrimonial issue regarding to a mafia-type criminal conspiracy sentence that she was convicted in the past.

Taking over the Giuliano clan

Personality

Arrest

Release

See also

Notes

Further reading