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Raffaele Cutolo

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67-537: Raffaele Cutolo ( Italian: [raffaˈɛːle ˈkuːtolo] ; 4 November 1941 – 17 February 2021) was an Italian crime boss and 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 gospel"), 'o Princepe ("the prince"), 'o Professore ("the professor") and 'o Monaco ("the monk"). Apart from 18 months on

134-452: A made man . The boss can promote or demote family members at will, and has the sole power to sanction murders inside and outside the family. If the boss is incarcerated or incapacitated, he usually retains the title of "boss" but may appoint an acting boss who is responsible for running the crime family in his stead or on a more daily basis. In addition to "boss" and "acting boss", some families have at times officially or unofficially utilized

201-500: A parole board . They may also train staff to work in the prison service. These duties, and the efficiency in which they are performed, has varied over time and within different prisons. The nature of the work depends on the size and type of prison. The amount of security a prison needs varies from open prisons to supermax or high-security prisons . Prison wardens should: Prisons in India , Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka are run by

268-478: A prison governor's telephone to make calls anywhere in the world, and allegedly even slap the prison governor on one occasion for daring to search his cell. Another key bond Cutolo created was regular payments to the families of NCO members sent to prison, thereby guaranteeing the allegiance of both prisoners and their families. What is unusual about Cutolo is that he has a kind of ideology, another factor that appealed to rootless and badly educated youths. He founded

335-454: A superintendent (US, South Asia ) or director (UK, New Zealand), is the official who is in charge of a prison . In the United States , Mexico , and Canada , warden is the most common title for an official in charge of a prison or jail. In some U.S. states including New York , Pennsylvania , New Jersey , Massachusetts , Connecticut , Rhode Island , California , and Hawaii ,

402-404: A Camorrista... She only listened to me and sent me a few suitcases of money to prisoners like I told her to". Nevertheless, it is clear that Cutolo had always wanted to maintain a male-only organization based on principles such as criminal fraternity and so could never be seen giving a role to his sister. It could be argued that he did not want to implicate her and therefore, always insisted that she

469-979: A colour television and sound system) in Ascoli Piceno, he requested that Pandico follow him, and his request was promptly granted by the prison authorities. Cutolo referred to the prison as "the state of Poggioreale" and is once reported to have stated, "I am the king of the Camorra. I take from the rich and give to the poor." As a prisoner, he dressed impeccably with ties and designer shirts, a gold watch and shoes of crocodile skin. His daily meals consisted of lobster and champagne. The Justice Department found out that between 5 March 1981 and 18 April 1982, Cutolo received money orders for an amount of 55,962,000 lire (the equivalent in 1982 of $ 55,000) to take care of his daily expenses, of which he reportedly spent half (30,600,000 lire or $ 29,000) on food and clothes. As Cutolo spent most of his time in prison from where he sent out his instructions,

536-405: A copy. Its possession alone would later be considered incriminating evidence. Cutolo openly supported the young inmates, who were confronted with abuse, brutality, physical aggression and rape. He provided them with advice and protection from the brutalities of other inmates. At the same time they learned how to behave as a good picciotto , the lowest entry level into the Camorra. Cutolo challenged

603-504: A criminal organization". According to the Justice department, this book was viewed by NCO members as the " Bible of the NCO" and was particularly popular in prison, due to Cutolo's own distribution by mail. Even though his book was impounded by magistrates within days of its publication, many prisoners, alienated from society both inside and outside jail, wrote to Cutolo and other NCO leaders asking for

670-488: A degree of a possession of a higher intelligence of an individual. The term especially indicates the existence of involvement in what is known as big-time crime , which would include for example armed robbery , and the more organised aspects of careers within crime. A 1945 dictionary of criminal slang in the U.S. lists Big Brains as "a gang-leader", but not Mr Big . Prison governor The warden ( US , Canada ) or governor ( UK , Australia ), also known as

737-468: A dreamer. A crazy man can be returned to reason. For a dreamer, he can only lose his head. A camorrista must be humble, wise and always ready to bring joy where there is pain. Only thus will he become a good camorrista before God. I am far from being a saint. I've made people cry, and I've done harm to those who wanted to harm me, making me cry. A camorrista is one who declares himself by his lifestyle. He who errs dies. On 17 February 2021, Cutolo died in

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804-481: A field as a sharecropper as a means to support his family. While still a child, the landowner told Cutolo's father that the following year the field would be used for a different purpose and that his services were no longer required. In desperation, his father turned to the local Camorra boss, whose word was law in the village. The boss invited the Cutolo family to his home and promised to settle everything. A short time later,

871-399: A knife fight in the courtyard (a practice called " 'o dichiaramento ", "the declaration"), but Spavone refused. The challenged boss allegedly limited himself to a reply: "Today's young men want to die young by whatever means". Spavone was released from prison shortly after this event. From his prison cell, Cutolo ordered the murder of Spavone. A hitman, allegedly Cutolo's friend, shot Spavone in

938-478: A man of honour, paid respect to more powerful inmates, and started gathering personal prestige because of his striking personality. He never lost sight of his ambition and his desire to become one of the biggest bosses of the Neapolitan underworld. Cutolo had established himself as a ringleader, when Antonio Spavone, known as " 'o Malommo " ("The Badman"), was transferred to Poggioreale prison. He challenged Spavone to

1005-459: A man whose girlfriend had been slapped by Cutolo due to an alleged insult. In the ensuing fight, Cutolo pulled out a gun and shot him to death. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, reduced to 24 years after appeal. He was sent to Poggioreale prison in Naples. Entering prison on a murder conviction made Cutolo a "tough guy". In prison Cutolo learned the rules of the criminal world: he became

1072-433: A person whom we truly admire... We don't like this society and soon we will go to Milan and we will live there and become successful, giving a lesson to the people of this dirty country. During an interview with the media, Cutolo reminisced about his life: I don't regret anything about my life. Crime is always a wrong move. It's true. However, we live in a society that is worse than criminality. Better to be crazy than to be

1139-437: A predestined man with supernatural powers, able to heal the wounded and raise the dead. Various psychiatric examinations assessed him to be psychotic , hysteric and a megalomaniac . He thought that he had been sent to earth to save the Neapolitan people. As he said during a trial in 1980: I saw four knights with lance and buckler , black capes around their shoulders. They saw me and smiled. At that moment I understood that I

1206-637: A prison is known as a prison governor . The exception is a number of private or contracted-out prisons which are managed by a director instead. The director is assisted by a controller , appointed by the Ministry of Justice . Entry and training varies between these services. Prospective governors would need to pass medical, eyesight and fitness tests, and should be a UK citizen or EU national and be prepared to relocate if necessary. The companies that run private prison establishments each have their own entry requirements and recruitment methods. Entry to governor jobs

1273-549: A psychiatric evaluation, Cutolo claimed to have revived his aunt when he was eighteen. One night she had entered into what had appeared to be an irreversible coma . Cutolo went close to her and said: "Get up! We don't have the money for your funeral." She then got up. According to Adriano Baglivo of the Corriere della Sera , the old lady came back to consciousness due to the emergency care of a physician familiar with her history of catatonic attacks. However, for Cutolo this episode assumed

1340-568: A rug in a car driven past checkpoints by the neighbourhood priest. She then went underground, remaining at liberty for the next 10 years. In 1993 she gave herself up and was charged only with mafia association: prosecutors alleged she had been running her brother's organisation. She was acquitted nine times of murder. Rosetta had persuaded the authorities she was harmless, which was helped by her frumpy image. However, Raffaele Cutolo has always maintained that Rosetta knew nothing of his criminal activities and did only what he asked: "Rosetta has never been

1407-587: A son, Roberto, from a previous marriage who was shot dead in Tradate on 24 December 1990, aged 28, in gang violence. His killers were later found dead, their faces riddled with bullets. The murder had been ordered by Mario Fabbrocino , the boss of the Fabbrocino clan, as revenge for Cutolo ordering the death of his brother, Francesco, in the 1980s. Fabbrocino was eventually convicted of Roberto's murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2005. Cutolo thought of himself as

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1474-706: A thousand members of the NCO. Cutolo was instrumental in obtaining the release of Ciro Cirillo , the Christian Democrat member of the regional government of Campania ( assessore ) in charge of Urban Planning, who had been abducted by the Red Brigades in April 1981. He was released within three months because, so rumour has it, the Christian Democrats paid Cutolo to use his influence with the Red Brigades. Publicly

1541-593: Is competitive, by whichever route. In England and Wales graduate vacancies are advertised each year (usually October) in the national press. Opportunities for direct entry in Scotland are advertised in both the Scottish and national press. In England and Wales there are two main routes into becoming a prison governor. The first is for existing staff to move up through the ranks (from being a prison officer, for example, or to move across from other management roles). The second route

1608-759: Is often greatly feared or respected for their cunning, strategy, and/or ruthlessness and willingness to take lives to exert their influence and profits from the criminal endeavors in which the organization engages. Some groups may only have as little as two ranks (a crime boss and their soldiers). Other groups have a more complex, structured organization with many ranks, and structure may vary with cultural background. Organized crime enterprises originating in Sicily differ in structure from those in mainland Italy. American groups may be structured differently from their European counterparts and Latino and African American gangs often have structures that vary from European gangs. The size of

1675-453: Is once reported as having said: "The day when the people of Campania understand that it is better to eat a slice of bread as a free man than to eat a steak as a slave is the day when Campania will win". The organisation was unique in the history of the Camorra in that it was highly centralised and possessed a rudimentary form of ideology. For example, he publicly declared that children were not to be kidnapped or mistreated and allegedly arranged

1742-521: Is through the Prison Service Intensive Development Scheme (IDS). This route is only open to those holding degrees, with a preference for candidates with relevant experience in the armed forces or police. The upper age limit for prison governor entry is 57. With this scheme it is possible to reach senior management in less than five years rather than the usual average twenty years. In Scotland , there are two ways to enter. This

1809-453: Is usually as follows: A boss will typically put up layers of insulation between himself and his men to hinder police efforts to connect his orders to him. Whenever he issues orders, he does so either to his underboss, consigliere or capos. The orders are then passed down the line to the soldiers. This makes it difficult under most circumstances for the police to directly implicate a boss in a crime, since he almost never directly gives orders to

1876-500: The Nuvoletta clan of Marano , Antonio Bardellino from Casal di Principe (patriarch of the so-called " Casalesi ") and Michele Zaza , known as o Pazzo or the Madman from Portici who made France his base of operations. From 1980 to 1983 a bloody war raged in and around Naples, which left several hundred dead and severely weakened the NCO. Between 16 and 19 June 1983, police arrested

1943-437: The 'Ndrangheta, supported by important bosses such as Piromalli , Paolo De Stefano , and Mammoliti. Cutolo based his organisation of the NCO on the model of the 'Ndrangheta, its internal codes and rituals. The NCO strongholds were the towns to the east of Naples, such as Ottaviano, and Cutolo appealed to a Campanian rather than Neapolitan sense of identity, perhaps as a result of his poor peasant background. For instance, Cutolo

2010-401: The 19th century Camorra and reconstructed the old Camorristic ritual of initiation. He took great care in making the ritual a binding social practice. In his cell, he created a ceremony in which the initiate received the award of the primo regalo ("first gift"), also called abbraccio ("embrace") or fiore ("flower"). He infused the old Camorristic traditions with Catholicism and reconstituted

2077-576: The Christian Democrats had refused to negotiate with terrorists, but privately leading politicians and members of the secret services visited Cutolo in prison and asked him to negotiate with imprisoned members of the Red Brigades. A large ransom was paid to win Cirillo's release. In return, Cutolo allegedly asked for a slackening of police operations against the Camorra, for control over the tendering of building contracts in Campania (a lucrative venture since Campania

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2144-490: The NCO in his home town Ottaviano on 24 October 1970, the day of Cutolo's patron saint, San Raffaele. In such a way Cutolo created the most powerful organization ever to exist in the Neapolitan hinterland. Using his personal appeal and almost magic charisma, he was able to achieve this single-handedly. Cutolo had strong ties with the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta . According to some pentiti, Cutolo's career started with his affiliation with

2211-404: The NCO. He requested that if other criminal groups wanted to keep their business, they had to pay the NCO protection on all their activities, including a percentage for each carton of cigarettes smuggled into Naples. This practice came to be known as ICA (Imposta Camorra Aggiunta, or Camorristic Sale Tax), mimicking the state VAT sale tax IVA (Imposta sul Valore Aggiunto). For instance, Michele Zaza,

2278-613: The Sicilian Cosa Nostra like the clans of Michele Zaza and Lorenzo Nuvoletta , who dealt in cigarettes and heroin, but soon moved on to invest in real estate and construction firms. Cutolo's NCO became more powerful by encroaching and taking over other group's territories. The NCO was able to break the circle of traditional power held by the families. Cutolo's organisation was too aggressive and violent to be resisted by any individual families. Other Camorra families initially were too weakened, too divided, and simply too intimidated by

2345-517: The Sicilian mafia-aligned Camorra gangs to oppose Cutolo and his NCO, although without much success. A year later, in 1979, the more successful Nuova Famiglia was formed to contrast Cutolo's NCO. It consisted of various powerful and charismatic Camorra clan leaders from the areas around Naples, such Carmine Alfieri of Saviano , Pasquale Galasso of Poggiomarino , Mario Fabbrocino of the Vesuvius area,

2412-425: The assassination of at least one kidnapper. Perhaps the most potent ideological weapon was the cult of violence, which sometimes bordered on a kind of death wish, as Cutolo once wrote: "the value of a life doesn’t consist of its length but in the use made of it; often people live a long time without living very much. Consider this, my friends, as long as you are on this earth everything depends on your will-power, not on

2479-440: The authorities. Generally viewing themselves as marginal and exploited, they were attracted by his notoriety, flamboyant personality and charisma. For instance, a letter from two teenage girls from Acerra which were intercepted by prison authorities read as follows: Seeing that it is difficult for us to find somebody who can understand, and having watched your interview on television, we thought of explaining our situation to you,

2546-444: The biggest Neapolitan cigarette smuggler, was reported to have paid the NCO more than 4 billion lire in the first three months after the imposition of the racket. However, no hierarchy between Camorra gangs or stable spheres of influence had been created, and no gang leader was likely to agree to be subdued by Cutolo without making a fight of it. In 1978, Zaza formed a 'honourable brotherhood' ( onorata fratellanza ) in an attempt to get

2613-518: The character of a miracle and sign of his inner powers. When Valerio Fioravanti , a Neo-fascist and fellow Poggioreale inmate sentenced for political terrorism asked Cutolo the reason for his charisma, he replied: "Naples is divided into lords and beggars. If I have charisma, it is because I can offer a prompt promotion from the second category to the first one." In prison, Cutolo received a significant amount of fan mail from youth who were impressed with his achievements as well as his ability to outsmart

2680-441: The consequent responsibility over their controlled areas, the NCO had no qualms over breaking the established social fabric by extorting shopkeepers, small factories and businesses, and building contractors. In its quest for cash, it even targeted individuals such as landlords, lawyers and professionals. The NCO's protection racket even included a transient circus. The NCO later branched out to cocaine trafficking, partly because it

2747-449: The criminal organization is also important, as regional or national gangs have much more complex hierarchies. The boss in the Sicilian and Italian-American Mafia is the head of the crime family and the top decision maker. Only the boss can initiate an associate into the family, however, the boss can give permission to an underboss , consigliere or a captain , allowing them to become

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2814-458: The day-to-day management of security is typically delegated to the head of security, who will be an assistant or subordinate of the warden. A warden's regular work may involve supervising security, making inspections, carrying out disciplinary procedures, writing reports, managing admissions and liaising with other professional staff who visit the prison, such as medical staff, probation officers , and social workers. Wardens are sometimes members of

2881-471: The everyday running of the enterprise was entrusted to his elder sister Rosetta Cutolo . Her nickname was " Occh'egghiaccio ", meaning Ice Eyes. Rosetta, a grey-haired, pious-looking woman, lived alone for years, tending her roses. She ruled in the Castle Mediceo, the headquarters of the organisation: a vast 16th-century palace with 365 rooms and a large park with tennis courts and swimming pool. The castle

2948-772: The face from short range with a shotgun. Spavone survived the ambush, but the shotgun blast left considerable damage to his facial structure, which required plastic surgery . Spavone immediately resigned from his highly visible role as a Camorra boss. Cutolo was soon able to gather under him a small group of prisoners, the nucleus of which would later become the leadership of the NCO. They were Antonino Cuomo known as " 'o Maranghiello " ("The Cudgel"), Pasquale Barra known as " 'o Nimale " ("The Animal"), Giuseppe Puca known as " 'o Giappone " ("Japanese"), Pasquale D'Amico known as " 'o Cartunaro " ("The Cardboard picker") and Vincenzo Casillo known as " 'o Nirone " ("The Big Black"). After being released, they would set up criminal activities on

3015-442: The foreign Neapolitans. The NCO spread like wildfire in the crisis-ridden Campanian towns of the late 1970s, offering alienated youths an alternative to a lifetime of unemployment or poorly paid jobs. Hundreds of young men were employed as enforcers. Initially, the main specialisation of NCO gangs was extorting money through protection rackets from local businesses. While the traditional Camorristic families held territorial powers and

3082-462: The illegal trades while the Camorra lent financial resources and support demanding 40% of all profits derived from illegal activities. This arrangement proved to be an unstable one: soon the local criminals tried to free themselves from the masters. In 1981, one of them, Giuseppe Rogoli , founded the Sacra Corona Unita , a new Mafia invoking the regional Pugliese identity against the intrusion of

3149-435: The jail store, or arranging for food to be sent in from outside. In such ways Cutolo created many 'debts' or 'rain cheques' which he would cash at the opportune moment. As his following grew, he also began to exercise a monopoly of violence within a number of prisons, thus increasing his power. By the early seventies, Cutolo had become so powerful that he was able to decide which of his followers would be moved to which jails, use

3216-429: The landowner changed his mind and the contract was renewed. A bad student, violent and inattentive, at 12 Cutolo was already roaming the streets with a gang of teenagers, committing petty burglaries and harassing shopkeepers. As soon as he could drive he bought a car, both for prestige and because it allowed him greater mobility in his raids. At the age of 21, on 24 February 1963, he committed his first homicide. He killed

3283-401: The number of years you have lived." Through his book of thoughts and poems, Poesie e pensieri and his many interviews with journalists, Cutolo was able to create a strong sense of identity among his members. The book was published in Naples in 1980, but never distributed to the public. The book, containing 235 pages of poems and pictures, was seized by the police and censored as an "apology of

3350-414: The old Camorra bosses and gave the youngsters a structure to belong to: "The new Camorra must have a statute, a structure, an oath, a complete ceremony, a ritual that must excite people to the point that they would risk their lives for this organization". Cutolo was revered by his soldiers. They called him Prince and kissed his left hand as if he were a bishop. Cutolo spent a great amount of time researching

3417-510: The outside was severely restricted when the harsh 41-bis prison regime was imposed upon him. In 2005, he asked for clemency in a letter to the Italian President. "I am tired and ill. I want to spend my last years at home." In 1983 he married Immacolata in prison. The couple never consummated their marriage. A six-year legal battle allowed Cutolo the right to father a child, Denise, through artificial insemination. Cutolo had previously had

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3484-495: The outside which would be directly controlled by Cutolo from within the penitentiary system. From within Naples' Poggioreale prison Cutolo built a new organisation: the Nuova Camorra Organizzata (NCO). He began by befriending young inmates unfamiliar with jail, giving them a sense of identity and worth, so much so that when they were released they would send Cutolo 'flowers' (i.e. money), which enabled him to increase his network. He helped poorer prisoners by buying food for them from

3551-528: The positions of front boss and street boss . A "front boss" is generally put into place to act ostensibly as the boss while drawing police attention away from the actual official boss operating behind the scenes. A "street boss" is often informally appointed or regarded by the official boss or by subordinates as the "hands-on", street-level, actively engaged proxy or stand-in for the official boss, usually coordinating, controlling, and managing street operations on behalf of an official boss who prefers to stay behind

3618-524: The post may also be known as a superintendent . Some small county jails may be managed by the local sheriff or undersheriff . In the U.K. and Australia , the position is known as a governor . In New Zealand and private prisons in the U.K., the position is known as a director . In India , Pakistan , Bangladesh , and Sri Lanka , the English-language title is a jail superintendent or just superintendent . The exact title varies depending on

3685-508: The prison unit of the Maggiore Hospital in Parma , at the age of 79. Crime boss A crime boss , also known as a crime lord , mafia don , gang lord , gang boss , mob boss , kingpin , godfather , crime mentor , or criminal mastermind is the leader of a criminal organization . A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and

3752-569: The provincial prison service. Each jail or prison is managed by a superintendent . The precise title varies by prison and state. A superintendent is typically assisted by a deputy superintendent and one or more assistants. There are currently 139 operational prisons in England and Wales, 16 in Scotland and three in Northern Ireland. There are three separate prison services covering England and Wales , Scotland , and Northern Ireland . The manager of

3819-410: The ritual of initiation of the traditional Camorra. In Poggioreale, where on average there were 25 prisoners to a cell, Cutolo managed to obtain a cell to himself with a shower, while Giovanni Pandico , his own personal cook and underwriter occupied the cell next door so that he could serve dishes on request. When he was transferred to a smaller penitentiary (where his cell was carpeted, and fitted with

3886-473: The run, Cutolo lived entirely in maximum-security prisons or psychiatric prisons after 1963. At the time of his death he was serving multiple life sentences for murder. Cutolo was born in Ottaviano , a municipality in the hinterland of Naples , in a family without ties in the Camorra . His fatherless youth was spent in a close-knit Catholic environment. His father was an agricultural labourer who for years tilled

3953-521: The scenes (either by choice or to avoid police scrutiny). "Street bosses" are often particularly influential or powerful caporegimes or underbosses , and the term is sometimes used interchangeably with "acting boss" or "front boss" depending on the circumstances. When a boss dies, the crime family members choose a new boss from inside the organization. The typical structure within the Mafia in Sicily and America

4020-431: The soldiers. The term Mr. Big is used within the underworld , and additionally during media reportings of persons associated with criminal activities, to refer to a leader of a body of persons functioning in the capacities of roles within organised crime. Sometimes bosses of the so-called gangland are referred to as being Mr Big , as for example when he could not be named for legal reasons. The term implicitly indicates

4087-426: The type of prison. The prison warden supervises all the operations within the prison. Prisons vary in size, with some housing thousands of inmates. They are responsible for the prison's security, the performance of staff of the prison (including prison officers , prison doctors , janitors , cooks and others), the management of its funds, the maintenance of its facilities and the welfare of its inmates. In practice,

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4154-425: Was bought for several billion lire, and provided direct contact for Cutolo from the prisons of Poggioreale and Ascoli Piceno. Brilliant with figures, Rosetta Cutolo negotiated with South American cocaine barons, narrowly failed to blow up a police headquarters and was glamorised in a film, The Professor . After her plan to blow up a police headquarters narrowly failed, her stronghold was raided; Cutolo escaped under

4221-467: Was given the task of rebuilding the Camorra on new and more efficient bases, so that the tradition of our fathers would not be lost. I am the reincarnation of the most glorious moments of the Neapolitan past, I am the messiah for the suffering prisoners, I dispense justice, I am the only real judge who takes from the usurers and gives to the poor. I am the true law, I do not recognize the Italian justice. During

4288-479: Was hit by a devastating earthquake in November 1980 ) and for a reduction of his own sentence – as well as new psychiatric test to show that he is not responsible for his actions. Both these last concessions were granted. Cutolo overplayed his hand in the Cirillo affair. His former political protectors turned and provided their support to his main rival Carmine Alfieri . When his main 'military' chief, Vincenzo Casillo

4355-423: Was innocent. Moreover, many important members did not believe that she held an important role because she was a woman. For instance, former NCO lieutenant and pentiti , Pasquale Barra argued: "What has Rosa Cutolo got to do with it? What have woman got to do with the Camorra?". Raffaele Cutolo decided to expand the Camorra to Apulia . The outcome was not what he had planned. At first local criminals were managing

4422-515: Was killed in January 1983 by the allies of Alfieri, it was clear 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. His sister who ran the business was arrested in 1993. He was moved to a prison on the island Asinara , far away from Naples and his ability to communicate with

4489-493: Was less subject to police investigation than heroin , but also because the Sicilian Mafia was less involved in the cocaine trade. At the end of the 1970s two different types of Camorra organisations were beginning to take shape. On one side there was Cutolo's NCO, which dealt mainly in cocaine and protection rackets, preserving a strong regional sense of identify. On the other side, the business-oriented Camorra clans linked to

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