Friends of Ours

Italy Arrests Female Solider On Mob Charge

A female soldier was among eleven individuals arrested yesterday for their alleged roles in aiding and abetting fugitives from the Caselesi clan of the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia as reported by Adnkronos.  The soldier allegedly ran a meals-on-wheels service by delivering hot dinners to housebound fugitives including reputed former boss Giuseppe Setola who was apprehended in 2008.

Mafia On The Run In Italy

The Mafia is on the run in Italy, and Nick Squires from The Telegraph identifies the country's top ten Mafiosi who either are in prison or in hiding. Thanks to the unprecedented law enforcement efforts under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi "police have arrested 23 out of the 30 most wanted mafia suspects."

Italian Authorities Seize Lago d'Averno

In Naples, Italy authorities have seized the fabled Lago d'Averno or Lake Avernus which allegedly "belongs to a stooge of the Casalesi clan" from the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia as reported by Independent Online:  "The lake, with its temples and grottos, was described by poets such as Vergil and Dante as the entrance to the underworld.  It is currently in the hands of a country club organisation which bought the lake two years ago from a tourism businessman who had been imprisoned at the time."

UPDATE:  Nick Pisa reports for the Daily Mail: 

The 60ft deep lake was created thousands of years ago during a volcanic eruption and still has a a faint smell of sulphur lingering over it. In 1991 it was bought for £600,000 from a noble family by a businessman named Gennaro Cardillo, 43, who had links to organised crime. * * * Police in Naples said Cardillo had bought the lake on behalf of blood thirsty Godfather Giuseppe Setola, who was behind the ruthless gunning down of six rival African drug dealers two years ago. Cardillo is said to have helped former altar boy Setola, 39, while he was on the run following the massacre hiding him away in a safe house until his arrest earlier this year.

Largest Mafia Asset Seizure In A Decade

Italian police have arrested Pasquale Setola, brother of jailed reputed gangster Giuseppe Setola, and four others in connection with a money laundering investigation into the Casalesi clan of the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia which has resulted in the seizure of assets worth 50 million euros according to an AKI article:

More than 100 local agents took part in the operation which targeted five people and at least 30 fake companies with alleged links to the Casalesi clan. * * * Police claimed Pasquale Setola, a businessman whose company, General Impianti sas di Pagano Massimiliano & C., involved in public contracts, has been identified with accumulating illicit funds through his business. Measures have been taken regarding five people in prison for association with the Camorra who are related to the seized assets. The investigations of the assets have revealed many other companies registered under third persons in order to avoid their seizure by the anti-mafia police. Pasquale Setola is reported to have registered his companies to a third person following the accusation of his brother, Giuseppe's involvement in a homicide in 2008.

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Neapolitan Mafia Boss Arrested

Italian police have arrested Michele Bidognetti, acting head boss of the Casalesi clan from the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia, and seized assets valued at over five million euros:

Investigators believe that Bidognetti was acting head of the Biognetti-Setola family on behalf of his jailed brother, Francesco Bidognetti, also known as Cicciott e Mezzanotte (Midnight Fatty), who is currently serving a life sentence. The seized assets included farms, open land, villas, apartments and commercial activities all acquired by fronts for the clan. Bidognetti was apprehended while apparently passing on orders from his brother to other clan members. He is believed to have taken over the family reins following the arrests last year of his brother's three sons, Aniello, Raffaele and Gianluca.

Michele Bidognetti "is believed to have taken over as boss of the Casalesi following the arrest in January of its former boss and mafia fugitive, Giuseppe Setola."

Casalesi Clan Assets Seized

Just a couple of days after apprehending Giuseppe Setola, the notorious fugitive who headed a murder squad run by the Casalesi clan of the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia, Italian police have seized "100 million euros worth of assets belonging to the Casalesi crime family":

The assets included real estate, companies and shares, and a luxury vehicle. The real estate seized by anti-Mafia police included 16 plots of land, 61 properties in Naples and the central Italian cities of Arezzo and Pisa.

Today's action by the authorities follows up on their seizure of 500 million euros worth of Casalesi assets last July, and 10 million euros worth of Casalesi assets last September.  Property and businesses belong to Setola were among the assets seized in September.