Camorra

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Camorra
Map highlighting the location of Campania in Italy
Map highlighting the location of Campania in Italy
Presumed Origin the Spanish Garduna
Creation XVI century
Actual Number 7,000 members
Principals Families 150 'clans'
Activities Blackmail, Illegal gambling, Casino, Prostitution, Trafficking

The Camorra is a mafia-like criminal organisation, or secret society, originating in the region of Campania and the city of Naples in Italy. It finances itself through drug-trafficking, prostitution, smuggling, money-laundering and blackmail, and its activities have led to high levels of homicide in the areas in which it operates. It is the oldest organized criminal organization in Italy.

Contents

[edit] Background

Camorristi in Naples, 1906
Camorristi in Naples, 1906

The Camorra is said by some authoritative sources to have originated with the Garduna, a late-Middle-Ages criminal society based in Seville, Spain, which was transported to Naples when Spain took control of the region. The Camorra was at its height in the 19th century, when the Bourbon monarchy in Naples used its members in the police, army, and civil service. Once Naples became a part of a united Italy in 1861, the Camorra was suppressed and many of its members fled to the United States where they joined the Italian-American Mafia. The Camorra was supplanted after Benito Mussolini's takeover in 1922.

Compared to its counterparts elsewhere in Italy, Sacra corona unita in Puglia and 'Ndrangheta in Calabria, it was more involved in piracy.

[edit] Activities

Compared to the Sicilian Cosa Nostra's pyramidal structure, the Camorra is made up of many clans that often fight each other. The Boss Raffaele Cutolo made an attempt to unify the Camorra families in the manner of the Sicilian Mafia, by forming the New Organized Camorra (Nuova Camorra Organizzata or NCO), but this proved unsuccessful. Drive-by shootings by camorristi often result in casualties among the local population, but such episodes are often difficult to investigate because of widespread Omertà (code of silence). Currently it is estimated there are about 111 Camorra families and over 6,700 members in Naples and surroundings. According to a report from Confesercenti, the second-largest Italian Trade Organisation, published on 22 October 2007 in the Corriere della Sera,the Camorra control the milk and fish industries, the coffee trade, and over 2,500 bakeries in the city.[1]

In 2004 and 2005 two parts of the Di Lauro Clan and so-called "Scissionisti" fought a bloody feud. The result was over 100 street-killings. At the end of October 2006 a new series of murders took place in Naples between 20 competing clans, that cost 12 killed in 10 days. The Interior Minister Giuliano Amato decided to send more than 1,000 extra police and Carabinieri to Naples to fight crime and protect tourists.[2] It didn't help much--in the following year there were over 120 murders.

[edit] The Garbage Crisis

Since the mid-1990s, the Camorra has taken over the handling of garbage disposal in the region of Campania, with disastrous results for the environment and the health of the general population. Heavy metals, industrial waste and chemicals and household garbage are frequently mixed together, dumped near roads and burnt to avoid detection, leading to a severe soil and air pollution. As of June 2007, the region has no serviceable dumping sites and no alternatives have been found. Together with corrupt local officials and unscrupulous industrialists from all over Italy, the Camorra has created a cartel that has so far proved very difficult to combat for officials.[3]

[edit] Presence in America

The Camorra existed in USA between the mid-1800s and early 1900s. They rivaled the Morello crime family for power in New York. Eventually, they melded with the early American Mafia groups.

[edit] Presence outside Italy

[edit] The Camorra in the UK

Scotland has had its brush with the Camorra. Antonio La Torre of Aberdeen, Scotland was a "Don" of the Camorra. He is the brother of Camorra boss, Augusto La Torre of the La Torre clan which had its base in Mondragone, Caserta. The La Torre Clan's empire was worth hundreds of millions of euros. Antonio had several legitimate businesses in Aberdeen, whereas his brother Augusto had several illegal businesses there. He was convicted in Scotland and is awaiting extradition to Italy. Augusto would eventually become a pentito in January 2003, confessing to over 40 murders and his example would be followed by many of his men.[4][5]

Two Aberdeen restaurateurs, Ciro Schiattarella and Michele Siciliano were extradited to Italy for their part in the "Aberdeen Camorra". A fourth Scottish associate named Brandon Queen who made history by becoming the first foreign member of the Camorra is currently serving a jail sentence in the UK. It has been reported that he also receives a monthly salary, legal assistance and protection, something only members of the Clans receive. Neapolitan writer and expert on the Camorra, Roberto Saviano, states that the Camorra has created a branch in Aberdeen the size of the city and that it is the focus of the La Torre clan's British operations.[6] [5][7]

Saviano alleges that from the 1980s, Italian gangsters ran a network of lucrative businesses in the city as well as many illegal rackets. Saviano said Scotland's third city, with no history of organised crime, was seen as an attractive safe haven away from the violent inter-gang blood-letting that had engulfed their Neapolitan stronghold of Mondragone. Saviano claims that before the Italian clans arrived, Aberdeen didn't know how to exploit its resources for recreation and tourism. He further states that the Italians infused the city with economic energy, revitalised the tourist industry, inspired new import-export activities and injected new vigour in the real-estate sector. It thereby turned Aberdeen into a chic, an elegant address for fine dining and important dealings.[7]

The hub of La Torre's UK empire, Pavarotti's restaurant, now under different ownership, was even feted at Italissima, a prestigious gastronomic fair held in Paris. Saviano furher claims to have gone to Aberdeen and worked in a restaurant run by Antonio La Torre. The Camorristas operated a system known as "scratch" where they used to step up illegal activities if their legitimate ventures were struggling. If cash was short they had counterfeit notes printed; if capital was needed in a hurry, they sold bogus treasury bonds. They annihilated the competition through extortions and imported merchandise tax-free. The Camorra were able to run all sort of deals because the local police had virtually no experience in dealing with organised crime. Although they broke the law, there was never any guns or serious violence, due to lack of rivals.[7]

However, the suggestion that the city remains in the grip of mobsters has been strongly denied by leaders of the 300 strong Italian community in Aberdeen. Moreover, Giuseppe Baldini, the Italian government's vice-consul in Aberdeen denies that the Camorra still maintains its presence in Aberdeen.[7]

[edit] In popular Culture

[edit] See also

2008 Naples garbage crisis

Towns with a strong influence of Camorra in their economic life (according to a 2000 report of the Italian Parliament):

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ „Die Mafia ist Italiens führendes Unternehmen“, Die Welt, 23. Oktober 2007
  2. ^ Paul Kreiner: „Mit mehr Polizei gegen die Camorra“, Tagesspiegel, 6. November 2006, „Italiens Innenminister verstärkt Kampf gegen Neapels lokale Mafia – aber die Justiz ist völlig überlastet.“
  3. ^ Loewe, Peter (2007-04-07). "Här tvättar maffian sina knarkpengar" (in Swedish), Dagens Nyheter (Stockholm), Bonnier AB. Retrieved on 2008-08-15. 
  4. ^ [1].
  5. ^ a b Augusto La Torre
  6. ^ [2]
  7. ^ a b c d [3]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camorra"
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