Giuseppe Puca (; June 1, 1955 − February 7, 1989) was an Italian Camorrista, and the right hand of

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 ...

, boss of the

Nuova Camorra Organizzata The Nuova Camorra Organizzata (Italian: New Organized Camorra) was an Italian Camorra criminal organization founded in the late 1970s by a Neapolitan Camorrista, Raffaele Cutolo, in the region of Campania. It was also known by the initials NCO. ...

(NCO). He was known among criminal circles as ("the Japan se), due to his Japanese looks.

Background

During his youth, Puca showed a talent that did not pass unnoticed by Cutolo, who recruited him as among the NCO's first members in the Poggioreale prison. The others were Antonino Cuomo a.k.a. ("the Cudgel"),

Pasquale Barra Pasquale Barra (; 18 January 1942 – 27 February 2015) was an Italian Camorrista who was a senior member and hitman for the Nuova Camorra Organizzata (NCO), a Camorra organization in Naples. Barra has the distinction of being the first NCO memb ...

a.k.a. ("the Animal"),

Pasquale D'Amico Pasquale D'Amico () is a former Italian Camorrista who was a senior member of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata (NCO), a Camorra organization in Naples. His nickname was ("the Cardboard picker"). D'Amico defected from the NCO and subsequently became a ...

a.k.a. ("the Cardboard picker") and Vincenzo Casillo a.k.a. ("the Big Black one").Jacquemet, ''Credibility in Court'', pp. 35 Thus, began his ascent to success. He soon became the capozona of

Sant'Antimo Sant'Antimo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 13 km north of Naples. Geography The municipality is located at 67 m above sea level and is 16 km from the ce ...

. He was suspected and accused of several murders, the principal or not, extortion and Camorra association. He was also suspected of having Cutolo escape criminal from mental hospital of Aversa, making the jump to the wall of dynamite. Puca was a primary suspect in the murder of Vincenzo Casillo, Cutolo's deputy and main 'military' chief at the order of Cutolo himself. This accusation, however, has never been confirmed nor proven. After Casillo's death, Puca replaced him as Cutolo's new second-in-command, but was later arrested and brought to trial in the famous 1983 maxi-trials against the NCO. He was involved in the "Tortora case", after the famous TV talk show host Enzo Tortora who was arrested in May 1983 and wrongly sentenced to ten years imprisonment for association with the mafia to corrupt the press. In September 1986, the

Corte d'Assise The Corte d'Assise ( en, Court of Assizes) is an Italian court composed of two professional, stipendiary judges or ''giudici togati''; and six lay judges or ''giudici popolari'', who are selected from the people. The Corte d'Assise has jurisdictio ...

of Naples fully acquitted Enzo Tortora. In 1987 the Supreme Court definitively affirmed Enzo Tortora's total innocence, and he started an action against those magistrates who had unjustly tried and sentenced him. Tortora's name allegedly appeared in the agenda of Puca, however in reality it was a certain Tortona, not Tortora. Puca was murdered on February 7, 1989, after a long shoot out with members of the Verde clan in

.Ucciso a 14 anni perche' il padre non paga i clan
La Repubblica, May 11, 1991

References

*Jacquemet, Marco (1996). ''Credibility in Court: Communicative Practices in the Camorra Trials'', Cambridge University Press {{DEFAULTSORT:Puca, Giuseppe 1955 births 1989 deaths People from the Province of Naples Camorristi Murdered Camorristi Nuova Camorra Organizzata People murdered in Italy