Carmine Alfieri Carmine Alfieri (; born February 18, 1943) is an Italian Camorra boss, who rose from Piazzolla di Nola to become one of the most powerful members of Neapolitan Camorra in the 1980s. As boss of the Alfieri clan, he was one of the most influential ...

Michele Zaza Michele Zaza (; Procida, April 10, 1945 – Rome, July 18, 1994) was a member of the Camorra criminal organisation who was also initiated in the Sicilian Mafia. He headed the Zaza clan (later Mazzarella clan) in Naples. Zaza was known as ''’O Pa ...

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 ...

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 gos ...

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. ...

Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily a ...

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. ...

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 gos ...

Michele Zaza Michele Zaza (; Procida, April 10, 1945 – Rome, July 18, 1994) was a member of the Camorra criminal organisation who was also initiated in the Sicilian Mafia. He headed the Zaza clan (later Mazzarella clan) in Naples. Zaza was known as ''’O Pa ...

Carmine Alfieri Carmine Alfieri (; born February 18, 1943) is an Italian Camorra boss, who rose from Piazzolla di Nola to become one of the most powerful members of Neapolitan Camorra in the 1980s. As boss of the Alfieri clan, he was one of the most influential ...

Alfieri clan The Alfieri clan was a Neapolitan Camorra clan operating on the north-east of Naples, with its sphere of influence in the municipalities of Saviano and Nola. History The association between the two Alfieri brothers, Salvatore and Carmine was form ...

Nola Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, southern Italy. It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian worship. ...

Nuvoletta clan The Nuvoletta clan was a powerful Neapolitan Camorra clan operating from the town of Marano di Napoli, situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Naples, southern Italy. The Nuvolettas belonged to a new style of Camorra, one that had the d ...

Cosa Nostra The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily a ...

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 ...

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 ...

Casalesi clan The Casalesi clan is a clan within the Camorra, an Italian criminal organization, operating from Casal di Principe and San Cipriano d'Aversa in the province of Caserta between Naples and Latium. Formed by Antonio Bardellino, it is a confederatio ...

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 ...

Castellammare di Stabia Castellammare di Stabia (; nap, Castiellammare 'e Stabbia) is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania region, in southern Italy. It is situated on the Bay of Naples about southeast of Naples, on the route to Sorrento. History ...

Afragola Afragola (; nap, Afrahola , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, in Italy. It is one of the 100 largest Italian cities (the ones that have a population of more than 63,000 inhabitants). The communal territory, measurin ...

Pasquale Galasso Pasquale Galasso (Poggiomarino, May 17, 1955) is a former boss of the Galasso clan, a clan of the Camorra, the Neapolitan crime organization. Since August 1992, he has been a pentito (a criminal turned state witnesses), collaborating with the It ...

Poggiomarino Poggiomarino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 25 km east of Naples. History Poggiomarino originated from the construction the canal "Conte di Sarno", begun in 1592 ...

Torre Annunziata Torre Annunziata (; nap, Torr'Annunziata) is a city and commune in the Metropolitan City of Naples, region of Campania in Italy. It is located on the Gulf of Naples at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. History The city was destroyed in the Vesuvius ...

Luigi Vollaro Luigi Vollaro (December 18, 1932 in San Sebastiano, province of Naples – December 3, 2015 in Milan)Vollaro clan from

Portici Portici (; ) is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Naples in Italy. It is the site of the Portici Royal Palace. Geography Portici lies at the foot of Mount Vesuvius on the Bay of Naples, about southeast of Naples itself. There i ...

. * Umberto Ammaturo, responsible for the cocaine trafficking from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

to

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

.

The war against Cutolo

The war that ensued between the Nuova Camorra Organizzata and the Nuova Famiglia caused a huge number of victims. This caused in turn a greater attention from the Italian police organizations, pushing Cosa Nostra to accommodate an agreement between the two warring clans, hopefully favouring the Nuova Famiglia, which included a lot of former allies. It appears that Alfieri had already decided to eliminate the senior NCO leaders, in revenge for the murder of his brothers during the war. In November 1982, the NCO's financier, Alfonso Ferrara Rosanova, was murdered. When his deputy and main 'military' chief, Vincenzo Casillo was killed via car bomb in January 1983 by Alfieri's ally,

Pasquale Galasso Pasquale Galasso (Poggiomarino, May 17, 1955) is a former boss of the Galasso clan, a clan of the Camorra, the Neapolitan crime organization. Since August 1992, he has been a pentito (a criminal turned state witnesses), collaborating with the It ...

, it was clear that Raffaele Cutolo had lost the war. His power declined considerably. Not only Cutolo but many other Camorra gangs understood the shift in the balance of power caused by the death of Casillo. They abandoned the NCO and allied themselves with Alfieri. The elimination of the key NCO figures not only marked the end of the NCO's defeat as a political and criminal force, but also the rise of Carmine Alfieri and the NF who, by now, virtually unopposed, replaced them as the main contact of the politicians and businessmen in Campania as well as other criminal organizations. These chain of killings, including that of Cutolo's son, Roberto Cutolo who was shot dead by members of the Fabbrocino clan on 24 December 1990, aged 28, coupled with the incarceration of many of its members brought an end to the Nuova Camorra Organizzata.

Internal war

After the defeat of Cutolo, war broke out among the anti-NCO coalition, in particular between the

Nuvoletta clan The Nuvoletta clan was a powerful Neapolitan Camorra clan operating from the town of Marano di Napoli, situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Naples, southern Italy. The Nuvolettas belonged to a new style of Camorra, one that had the d ...

from Marano and

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 ...

at the end of 1983. With

Carmine Alfieri Carmine Alfieri (; born February 18, 1943) is an Italian Camorra boss, who rose from Piazzolla di Nola to become one of the most powerful members of Neapolitan Camorra in the 1980s. As boss of the Alfieri clan, he was one of the most influential ...

siding with Bardellino’s

Casalesi clan The Casalesi clan is a clan within the Camorra, an Italian criminal organization, operating from Casal di Principe and San Cipriano d'Aversa in the province of Caserta between Naples and Latium. Formed by Antonio Bardellino, it is a confederatio ...

. The war culminated in the

Torre Annunziata Torre Annunziata (; nap, Torr'Annunziata) is a city and commune in the Metropolitan City of Naples, region of Campania in Italy. It is located on the Gulf of Naples at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. History The city was destroyed in the Vesuvius ...

's massacre of August 1984, which left eight people killed and 24 wounded among the Gionta clan allied with Nuvoletta. After the massacre and the murder of Ciro Nuvoletta two months earlier, the balance of power shifted in favour of Alfieri and Bardellino.Behan, ''See Naples and Die'', pp. 127-28

The end

On May 26, 1988,

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 ...

was murdered by his right-hand man, Mario Iovine in his Brazilian home at Búzios, a beach side resort for the rich and famous in the State of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, as part of an internal feud within the

Casalesi clan The Casalesi clan is a clan within the Camorra, an Italian criminal organization, operating from Casal di Principe and San Cipriano d'Aversa in the province of Caserta between Naples and Latium. Formed by Antonio Bardellino, it is a confederatio ...

.Dopo un anno la conferma 'Bardellino e' stato ucciso'
''La Repubblica'', July 25, 1989 In 1992,

Pasquale Galasso Pasquale Galasso (Poggiomarino, May 17, 1955) is a former boss of the Galasso clan, a clan of the Camorra, the Neapolitan crime organization. Since August 1992, he has been a pentito (a criminal turned state witnesses), collaborating with the It ...

decided to turn state's evidence, becoming the most important

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 ...

inside the Camorra organization. After him, Carmine Alfieri was arrested and following Galasso, also decided to cooperate with the state.

Lorenzo Nuvoletta Lorenzo Nuvoletta (January 1, 1931 – April 7, 1994) was the head of the Nuvoletta clan, a Neapolitan Camorra organization that operated from the town of Marano di Napoli, situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Naples. Nuvoletta was c ...

, because of a serious illness, after a time in jail, was granted house arrest. He died on April 7, 1994, from liver cancer. Marking the end of the Nuova Famiglia.Morto Nuvoletta, "re" di camorra
Corriere della Sera, April 8, 1994

Historical leadership

Bosses

*1970s-1985 -

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 ...

,

Michele Zaza Michele Zaza (; Procida, April 10, 1945 – Rome, July 18, 1994) was a member of the Camorra criminal organisation who was also initiated in the Sicilian Mafia. He headed the Zaza clan (later Mazzarella clan) in Naples. Zaza was known as ''’O Pa ...

,

Lorenzo Nuvoletta Lorenzo Nuvoletta (January 1, 1931 – April 7, 1994) was the head of the Nuvoletta clan, a Neapolitan Camorra organization that operated from the town of Marano di Napoli, situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Naples. Nuvoletta was c ...

,

Carmine Alfieri Carmine Alfieri (; born February 18, 1943) is an Italian Camorra boss, who rose from Piazzolla di Nola to become one of the most powerful members of Neapolitan Camorra in the 1980s. As boss of the Alfieri clan, he was one of the most influential ...

*1985-1988 -

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 ...

(murdered) *1988-1994 -

Lorenzo Nuvoletta Lorenzo Nuvoletta (January 1, 1931 – April 7, 1994) was the head of the Nuvoletta clan, a Neapolitan Camorra organization that operated from the town of Marano di Napoli, situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Naples. Nuvoletta was c ...

References

*Behan, Tom (1996).
The Camorra
', London: Routledge, {{Camorra 1970s establishments in Italy 1990s disestablishments in Italy Camorra clans

History

The war against Cutolo

Internal war

The end

Historical leadership

Bosses

See also

References