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 ...
, more specifically in the town of
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 ...
and
San Sebastiano al Vesuvio
San Sebastiano al Vesuvio ( nap, San Bastiane) is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, located on the western slopes of Mount Vesuvius. Its elevation means that it is often a few degrees cooler than the neighbouring metropolis of Napl ...
, a small village in the
Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples
The Gulf of Naples (), also called the Bay of Naples, is a roughly 15-kilometer-wide (9 ...
area.
History
The Vollaro clan was founded in the mid-seventies by
Luigi Vollaro
Luigi Vollaro (December 18, 1932 in San Sebastiano, province of Naples – December 3, 2015 in Milan)Jacquemet, ''Credibility in Court'', pp. 48
The Vollaro clan has fought two Cammora wars. The first between 1977 and 1997, was an internal war plagued by a score of murders and the other, in late 2001 and early 2002, was with the Cozzilino clan.
The Vollaro clan was one of the first clans to take sides with the powerful
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 ...
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 ...
against 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) which was led by
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 ...
. It was also one of the first clans to join the
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 ...
(NF), a coalition of anti-Cutolo clans which was formed to contrast the growing power of the NCO.
In 1982, Luigi Vollaro was arrested after spending three years on the run and was charged with the murder of Giuseppe Mutillo in 1980. Vollaro was later sentenced to life imprisonment for this murder. In 2003, Vollaro received a second life sentence for the murder of Carlo Lardone.
In 1992, Vollaro was subjected to the harsh
Article 41-bis prison regime
In Italian law, Article 41-bis of the Prison Administration Act, also known as carcere duro ("hard prison regime"), is a provision that allows the Minister of Justice or the Minister of the Interior to suspend certain prison regulations. Currently ...
, thus having the distinction of being one of the first Camorra bosses to be subjected to this regime. For a short period after his arrest, the management of his illegal businesses went to his sons Pietro, Giuseppe and Raffaele. Another son, Antonio who had dissociated from the family business early on, was wrongly detained years for a murder committed by his brother Ciro. Ciro admitted to the murder after becoming 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 ...
(collaborator with Italian Justice) and with his confessions, dealt a massive blow to the clan's activities.La Storia della famiglia Vollaro di Portici Cronache Di Camorra blogspot, July 7, 2008
Five sons of the "Caliph" were arrested on June 10, 2009, including the regent of the clan, Antonio Vollaro. The investigation leading to the arrests showed that nearly the entire town of Portici paid extortion money (the '' pizzo'') to the clan, from the shops in the center to ambulant street sellers. The more affluent shops in the center of town had to pay between 500 and 2,000 euros a month, while the street sellers had to pay 30-40 euro a week. At Christmas, Easter and the holiday season extras had to be paid.
The continuing arrests of the Vollaro clan's members is likely to break the balance of local organized crime. Its weakening is likely to pave the way for the more powerful Sarno clan.
Current status
As of 2019, despite the weakening compared to the years when the clan was dominant in the southeast of Naples, it remains active, in particular in Portici, the clan's original stronghold.
Despite being in prison, Pietro Vollaro, son of Luigi, is considered by the authorities the current leader of the organization.
After the murder of Ciro D'Anna, affiliate of the clan, on December 23, 2019, news emerged that the Vollaro clan would be at war with the
Mazzarella clan
The Mazzarella clan is a Campanian Camorra clan operating in the city of Naples. The clan is historically considered one of the most powerful groups of the Camorra.
History
The clan was founded in the 1960s by the Mazzarella brothers, Ciro know ...
, due to the interests of the latter in expanding their territories into the Vollaro's zone of influence. Ciro D'Anna was reportedly one of the right-hand men of Carlo Vollaro, who is now considered one of the leaders of the organization.
Capoclan (official and acting)
*1970s-2015 — Luigi "o' Califfo" Vollaro — arrested and sentenced for life in 1982. (Died in prison on December 3, 2015)
**''Acting'' 1996-1996 — ''Ruling panel'': Giuseppe and Raffaele Vollaro — the two members were arrested.
**''Acting'' 1996-2009 — Antonio Vollaro — imprisoned.
* 2015–present — Pietro Vollaro — in jail.
**''Acting'' 2015–present — Unknown
Informant and witness
*1996 — Ciro Vollaro — son of Luigi, cocaine addict, deceased in 2006 for suicide.
*1996 — Francesco Di Pierno — Luigi's ''capozona''.
*1996 — Francesco Pariota — Another Luigi's ''capozona''.
References
*Jacquemet, Marco (1996). ''Credibility in Court: Communicative Practices in the Camorra Trials'', Cambridge University Press
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1970s establishments in ItalyCamorra clans