Friends of Ours

Massive Bust Targets Polverino Clan's Spanish Connection; 130 Arrests Across Italy And Spain

Italian and Spanish authorities have dismantled a drug ring allegedly controlled by the Polverino clan from the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia which smuggled Moroccan hash as reported by ANSA:  "fully 100 people were arrested in Italy and another 30 in Spain."

Authorities claim the ring made an "annual profit of 60-million euros ($78 million) from smuggling 6 tons of hashish a year since 2006" as reported by Bloomberg.

In March 2012 reputed clan boss Giuseppe Polverino was arrested in Spain after six years on the lam as reported by AGI.

Polverino allegedly made a fortune by controlling the hashish trade from Spain to Italy, and further had accumulated an extensive business empire which stretched into northern Italy and Spain.

In May 2011 Italian police seized more than a billion euros in suspected Polverino clan assets "including construction companies, luxury villas and cars, vast tracts of land, shell companies, bank accounts and even butchers and bakeries" as reported by Expatica.com.

Italian Police Nab Fugitive Mobster

After four years on the lam Italian police have apprehended Salvatore Barbato who is the brother-in-law of reputed boss Raffaele Amato from the drug-trafficking Amato-Pagano clan of the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia as reported by ANSA.  Multiple raids over the last few months have netted dozens of suspected mobsters from the clan's rapidly-diminishing ranks.

Drug Smorgasbord On Flower Truck

A truck en route from Holland into Naples was smuggling drugs -- 73 kilograms of pot, hash and coke worth 2 million euros -- among its load of flowers as reported by ANSA.  The drug trade in Naples is controlled by the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia, and an ongoing turf war between the rival Scissionisti and Di Lauro clans has claimed dozens of mobsters in recent months.

Italian Police Arrest Mafia Beancounter

Luigi Galletti of the Contini clan from the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia has been arrested afer a year on the lam as reported by ANSA.  In annoucing the arrest Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said Galletti was "an important fugitive because he kept the records for payments to the Contini clan's affiliates."

Battipaglia Mayor Charged In Camorra Probe

Repeat three times:  organized crime cannot exist without public corruption.

Italian police have arrested Mayor Giovanni Santomauro from the Campania city of Battipaglia for allegedly awarding contracts to companies tied to the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia in a bid rigging scheme as reported by ANSA.

The Camorra runs the streets of Naples and is involved in everything from the vice rackets such as drugs and prostitution to the corruption of legitimate industries including waste and construction, and its dirty operations were exposed to the world by Roberto Saviano in his 2006 international bestseller Gomorrah which subsequently was adapted into a film by director Matteo Garrone.