Looking at the big bust in the US and reading about the seizure of nine tons of contraband cigarettes in Napels, this seems still a major racket on both sides of the ocean.

You are absolutely right, going all the way back to Michele Zaza, and even Luciano in Naples.

I think because most countries, in the EU at least, keep raising excise tax (accijns) causing to prices for a single pack of cigarettes to become absurd that it becomes more and more lucrative to sell cigarettes illegally. If the governments keep on making it more and more expensive the (illegal) cigarette trade will be as big as the drug trade..

Michele Zaza was really big player in cigarette smuggling,at the time of his death he had around 700 million $.

"in 1959 a case of Chesterfield, Camel or Pall Mall was bought for US$23 and sold on the streets for US$170"

During the 1990's, there was this huge cigarette smuggling boss on the Balkans known as Danco Suturkov who took care of the cig business for whole eastern Europe. His company "Makedonija Tabak" was the largest tobacco and cigarettes trading enterprise during that time and according to countless news reports, it was believed that he was the mastermind of cigarettes smuggling across the whole region. When the guy died, his funeral was a Mob spectacle with Italian, Russian, Hungarian, Serbian and Albanian high profile racketeers.

My point is that he never left his country but his family lavishly enjoyed their lives and they still do and will continue doing it, with the same old money.

Thanks for sharing this Michele Zaza story, never heard of him. Very interesting guy, also initiated in the Cosa Nostra as a Camorrista.

'O Pazzo (The Madman) they called him, but he couldn't be too fucked up in the head making 700 million..


EDIT: Btw, I'm surfing through some Wikipedia pages regarding the Camorra and I read this at the wikipage of the Caselesi:

''In the 1980s, Bardellino realized that cocaine, not heroin, would become the more profitable drug and organized a trafficking operation smuggling it from Latin America to Aversa via a fish flour import-export business. Heroin was smuggled as well, and shipments to the Gambino crime family were concealed inside espresso filters. When one shipment was intercepted by the authorities, Bardellino reportedly called John Gotti and told him; "Don't worry, now we're sending twice as much another way''.

Is there any truth to this as far as you guys know??

Are we talking about genuine and real cigarettes that have been stolen or are from diversion? I thought that the most profitable was the sale of Counterfeit cigarettes from China. It's a huge profit mark up.

Another guy in the 90s was Franco Della Torre of the famous "Pizza Connection” case. Those guys made deals with companies that had official licenses from Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, and R.J. Reynolds.

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-is-prime-suspect-in-cigarette-smuggling-probe/2354630

I find this topic particularly interesting, especially how different states in the US have different prices for cigarettes. Here's some articles and reports about it.

https://priceonomics.com/new-yorks-enormous-cigarette-smuggling-trade/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/03...tm_medium=email

http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/pa468.pdf

http://www.library.unt.edu/gpo/acir/Reports/policy/a-65.pdf

It was a big money maker for Henry Hill and Jimmy Burke according to Wiseguy, which details how they smuggled cigarettes. According to that last report a soldier in the Colombo family was a big player in it as well as Gigante.

@billybrizzi

It's funny you mention that about Gotti and Bardellino; it's one of those things that begs to be researched further, but guys keep asking the same questions over and over, AND OVER LOL


People dismiss the Gaspipe book right? And I can honestly understand why, the author IS A TOOL, but think in the book where he mentions Gotti and Gaspipe having a sit down, and basically he said they came to a agreement to dominate the heroin market in NY together, probably in the traditional, Gambino supply, Luchesse distribute.

I remember reading that, thinking it gave credence to what I read about Bardellino. It would have made it easier to control the Sicilian faction as well, being that narcotics supply was and indeed STILL IS their strenghth internationally, as well as within the five families of NY. Plus it just kinda makes sense, seeing as Gotti was Neapolitan.

I don't think the Gambinos have ever really given up their connections to international drug markets, really ever since Carlo made his big moves. I've been of the opinion that's been the families real power for long time now....

@MightyDR



Good post man, that last one is a gem. Didn't know the Gigantes were big in cigarettes, that's something that wasn't even the Chin book if I remember correctly. I often find better info on these boards then I do in many books.

@ Toodoped

You are the biggest example of this my man!!! You shit on just about every book on Chicago OC, your articles match or easily beat most of the ones I've read...

Zaza almost bought a casino in Monaco, if I'm not mistaken.
A lot of people might not realize how powerful those three clans from Naples are to ITALIAN OC.


Zaza worked with the Sicilian Grecos, who were for about fifty years, THE FAMILY IN Palermo. Old school citrus grove bosses, like mafia old money.

The Marano clan, the Nuvolettas, were able to defy the Coreleonesi without any hint of reprisals. One of their lieutenants, Paulo DiLauro, became one of the most powerful bosses in Naples.

And according to Roberto Saviano, CosaNostra is just straight up in AWE of the Casalesi, while the Casalesi views Cosa Nostra as being too dependent On political favors and incapable of thinking in business terms. They specifically mentioned blowing up the bridge to beat a case like, what's wrong with them?

They recently raised the age to purchase cigarettes inChicago to 21. I remember saying to my sister and mother," The boys selling loosies should be making more now".

It was like that only when Corleonesi ruled the Sicilian Mafia,because Toto Riina started a war with state,instead of working with state,he went against it,its not really smartest thing to do.

Sicilian mafia has really close connections to politics and freemasonry,same goes for 'Ndrangheta,they have their own secret cupola called La Santa,which is full of politicians,cops,freemasonry members etc.

Camorra is more like a street gang expect for Casalesi.

Agreed, I've always described them as like, HUGE drug gangs, with big time supply. The exceptions are the Casalesi, and Nuvolettas with their land deals.



There is also the clothing market, which is huge.....But I don't think it's been dominated by a single family ever.... Some clans control dress factories, other shoe factories, others may make pants or purses, ect......

The thing about the Sicilians and Calabrians is they mostly have to leave Italy to really get to the big money, while the Naples gangs just operate in Italy, and Eastern Europe, but, correct me if I'm wrong it goes, drug sales in Italy, Cammora, drug sales in Europe, Calabrians, America USED to be Sicily, and seeing as the calabrians have Canada, it probably still is.

By Naples being more urban, it's like they just have more commerce to work with, more to steal from,less incentive to leave the region.

I have no idea how much money they are making and where,but i can guess it is big money by looking at articles when police confiscate property and other things:its 50 million $,100 or even more,few times it was over 1 billion $.

In Sicily they are into everything:drugs,agricultural sector,wind farms,protection racket,construction,waste disposal,everything you can imagine and not just Sicily they have presence in north Italy and outside of Italy as you said.

But ofc Sicilian Mafia is not what it was back to 80s when they were most powerful criminal organization in Italy and in Europe probably,as you said really stupid decisions,war with state etc.

Again wholeheartedly agree; the amount of property, and just assets in general that get confiscated on a regular basis is pretty breathtaking...

And you are right, in Sicily they are into everything, as well as Calabria.
It's the same in Naples, it's just that there is more of all this in the bigger cities of Italy. More construction, more trash, more people, so more people to sell cigarettes, or drugs, or cloths. More companies, just more urban. It's a territory of commerce, capitalism. Whereas the Sicilians are almost like a kind of state sponsored fascism, with the political connects and all being tied into the governing apparatus of Sicily...

The heroin send to America was packed in espresso filters. I do believe Italian police intercepted a telephone call between Bardellino and someone in NY not sure if it was Gotti himself.

Very similar to Latin groups a lot of Spanish influences in Napels even in the Neapolitan dialect. They are also heavily influenced by Scarface.

Walter Schiavone build a replica of the Scarface villa I read in Saviano's book. Pretty crazy expample of Art imitating Life imitating Art..

The Prudentino clan from Puglia supplied the black market in Britain.

Aww you're making me blush

Some guy with contacts in vietnam down the street from me used to get a big box like once a month forever then got busted a while back he was living in the projects making good money.

“I’m not crazy” - Profile of Camorra boss Michele “The Madman” Zaza http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profil...-of-camorra-boss-michele-the-madman-zaza

seeing as most of the price you pay for a pack of smokes is pure taxes it's no wonder people are making money on it. I live in the EU - in my country af pack of camels cost roughly 6-7 $. Bring that pack to say Britain or Norway and the price is at least 12 $. That is a big mark up. The money is even bigger if you buy the smokes wholesale from some country in eastern or central europe like Poland or Romania, where a pack costs 2-3 dollars. Thats a 9 dollar mark up on 1 pack.

Are the five families involved in the cigarette racket? It seems like a steady money maker with much less risks than drugs.

its crazy the feds still bust small time bootleg butt operations up- here in massachusetts all the time. they dont care if its your grandpa getting boxes containing 20 cartons a month from a friend in florida. they make a example every 6 months or so. they get a huge fine like huge 10k then probation for 3 yrs.

Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, and R.J. Reynolds just give licenses to people connected to the mafia.

Why not so Long as they get their money

Which OC groups are most involved in the contraband cigarette trade right now ?