Mafia management
The crime families of Naples are remarkably good at business
Aug 27th 2016


AN EASY way to revive a flagging dinner party is to ask people to name their choice of the greatest crime show. Is it “The Wire”, with its intricate portrait of Baltimore’s underworld? Or “The Sopranos”? Or perhaps “Breaking Bad”? Now there is a new contender for the prize—“Gomorrah”, a drama about a collection of Italian gangs known as the Camorra that run a criminal empire from their base in Naples.

“Gomorrah” has been Italy’s most talked-about television series since its release two years ago. It has been sold in 50 countries and the first episode premiered on America’s Sundance TV this week. The series is far darker than the other three. The gangsters aren’t lovable monsters like Tony Soprano, just monsters. It is more realistic. The author of the book behind the series, Roberto Saviano, has been in hiding since the Camorra issued a death warrant against him in 2006. Filming of the series in gritty Neapolitan neighbourhoods was interrupted by local violence.

One of the most striking things about the Camorra is how good they are at business. They have taken over from the Sicilian Mafia as Italy’s foremost crime syndicate, partly owing to the Italian state’s move to clamp down on the Cosa Nostra from the mid-1990s. The Camorra’s strategy of focusing on drugs, particularly cocaine, has also paid off. The group runs much of Europe’s drug trade, including the continent’s largest open-air narcotics market in Secondigliano, in the north-east of Naples.
The syndicate appears to be organised like a typical corporation, with descending levels of power. There is a top tier of senior managers who determine strategy and allocate resources; a second tier of middle managers who purchase and process the product; a third level of sales chiefs who co-ordinate distribution; and a fourth grade of street salesmen who deliver the product directly to customers. The group employs all the usual supply-chain-management methods. Its leaders source drugs from around the world (cocaine from Latin America, heroin from Afghanistan and hashish from north Africa) and make sure that alternatives are in place in case of disruption.

They do some things outstandingly well. Operating outside Italy’s growth-killing labour rules, the Camorra can be fleet-footed. A loose alliance of about 115 gangs, with around 500 members each and numerous associates, they can swiftly assemble a workforce of whatever size is needed, or shift from one line of business to another in a flash. They are best-in-class when it comes to renewing talent and ideas. Whenever entrenched managers balk at moving into new markets, as the older Camorra bosses did when drugs came along in the 1980s, they are replaced by a younger generation.

Paolo Di Lauro, the former head of one of the most powerful clans, and the model for Don Pietro in “Gomorrah”, is arguably one of the most innovative businesspeople Italy has produced in recent years (since 2005 he has been held in solitary confinement in a maximum-security prison). As well as co-ordinating the drug trade with Colombia, he designed the group’s successful franchise system, in which it treats distributors like franchisees who are responsible for their own turf rather than as mere employees. That gives them an incentive to recruit more people as well as to shift more product.

The Camorra put their own unique spin on standard management techniques. They are experts in team-building. New recruits are initiated with quasi-religious ceremonies. Rising stars are given endearing nicknames such as Carlucciello ‘o mangiavatt (“little Charles the cat-eater”) or Urpacchiello (a riding crop made from dried donkey’s penis). They take care of the relatives of workers who die on the job. Gang members known in their role as the “submarine” deliver money and groceries to the bereaved families on Fridays. The group’s efforts at corporate social responsibility (CSR) pay off. Local people invariably take the gangsters’ side during police raids, forming human barricades, pelting law enforcers with rubbish and setting fire to their cars.

True, this is CSR that comes soaked in blood rather than the usual syrup. Mr Saviano calculates that the gangs were responsible for 3,600 deaths between 1979 (when he was born) and 2006 (when he published his book). They are also responsible for a widening circle of economic devastation. The trade in drugs that swells their coffers also ruins lives. Naples, one of Italy’s most enjoyable cities, would be a bigger tourist attraction if it weren’t for its reputation for violent crime.

They’re bigger than US Steel

The Camorra themselves pay a high price, too. The street soldiers live miserable lives, typically ending up dead, injured or in prison before they reach middle age. Those at the top are constantly on their guard against being rubbed out by rivals or arrested by the police. Many of them live in permanent hiding, either in attics or underground complexes. Mr Di Lauro’s business produced turnover of €200m ($250m) a year, but he didn’t exactly live large: he was a recluse, protected by steel shutters and bolted gates, and also had to spend years on the run.

Nonetheless, the syndicate thrives, in part because the rewards are so huge and in part because the alternatives are so sparse. Italy’s economy has been stagnant for well over a decade. The country ranks number 45 in the World Bank’s ease-of-doing-business table, with southern Italy being a particularly hostile place for legitimate enterprise. On August 22nd the heads of the euro zone’s three biggest economies—Angela Merkel of Germany, François Hollande of France and Matteo Renzi of Italy—met on an island off the coast of Naples to talk about relaunching the European project. To be successful, any such plan must make it easier to create legal businesses—and thus likelier that the management genius displayed by the likes of the Camorra is directed towards the creative side of creative destruction.

http://www.economist.com/news/business/2...afia-management

i knew that camorra is among the biggest importer of coke and hashish into europe i didn't know it also has a leading role in heroin trafficking

Since the making of a pact wtih the Albanian mob, the Camorra has become number one narcotics importer in Europe

I thought the 'Ndrangheta pretty much ruled the drug import in Europe T., at least when it comes to coke. But I also know these guys from Casal di Principe are extremely wealthy and powerful. I loved Saviano's book btw, can recommend it to every crime aficionado..

In heroin and hashish yes,'Ndrangheta is biggest importer of cocaine in Europe.

While it seems Saviano has pushed the idea of Camorra dominance, the Ndrangheta is considered the top Italian crime group pretty much across the board by law enforcement and OC experts.

Exactly,the truth is Camorra is less organized than Cosa Nostra or 'Ndrangheta expect Casalesi clan.

We can't say who is more powerful Camorra or Cosa Nostra,but as you said 'Ndrangheta is the top organized crime group in Italy and even the whole Europe.

Saviano also talked often about the 'ndrangheta's drug trafficking and how they have infiltrated the economy of (northern) Italy.

@Todoped


That's pretty interesting, is this a recent development? You have any idea which clans are in partnership?

@Ivey

I definitely wouldn't say he's "pushing" cammora dominance. You gotta remember, 1. He grew up around these people, so his perspective is going to be a little tilted. 2. If you read his book, he is QUITE-repulsed by the mafia. 3. He STILL lives under 24 hour armed guard behind writing that book.

The second major reason I wouldn't say that is that his most recent book (And I owe you an apology Billybrizzi, I kinda steered you away from it, but it's actually a pretty damn good read, you should check it out...) is ALL about the Mexican cartels and Ndrangheta, and the Colombian para-military coke organizations. More specifically, his ZeroZeroZero is about the dominance of COCAINE as a product, and the affect on global commerce.


Here is an article that sums up his, kinda revolutionary thinking. It really illustrates to me the great riddle of Michael Corleone. He says that Westerners, are basically naive for believing there is ANY difference between the " Legit" market and the " Black" market. It's like he applied the ideals of Machiavelli and politics to economics.....



https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/d...ano-ed-vulliamy

@ strax

I kinda get what you mean when you say Costa Nostra is MORE organized, but I don't know if I totally buy into it. Like in the book Sixth Family, they say a lot of the same things about Cosa Nostra and Ndrangheta. That Ndrangheta had an " inferiority complex" when dealing with Sicilians, were less organized, all that. But we see now their structure is a little more complex than Cosa Nostra, with the mafia in a Mafia model.


And this is one of things that still baffle me about Cosa Nostra. There is Palermo, where there is business and commerce. Then there are the agricultural areas where things are grown, olives, whatever. Then you have the three Naples clans, Mazzarella, Nuvoletta, fuck I forget the other one. Everything I've read so far, leads me to believe that they are at the VERY TOP of Cosa Nostra. And these are Napoletans. All the other powerful clans, it's like they are all major narcotics traffickers. I can't figure where they stand today though, but I suspect it's still very high up...

Also guys, I wouldn't forget that the cammora still runs the fashion industry, here's a few excerpts to give you an idea....

“The Directory’s production board included businessmen from Casoria, Arzano, and Melito, who ran companies such as Valent, Vip Moda, Vocos, and Vitec, makers of imitation Valentino, Ferré, Versace, and Armani sold all over the world. A 2004 inquiry, coordinated by Naples DDA prosecutor Filippo Beatrice, uncovered the Camorra’s vast economic empire. It all started with a small detail, one of those little things that could have passed unnoticed: a clothing store in Chemnitz, Germany, hired a Secondigliano boss. A rather unusual choice. It turned out he actually owned the store, which was registered “under a false name. From this lead, followed by wiretaps and state witnesses, the Naples DDA reconstructed each link in the Secondigliano clans’ production and commercial chain.



They set up shop everywhere. In Germany they had stores and warehouses in Hamburg, Dortmund, and Frankfurt, and in Berlin there were two Laudano shops. In Spain they were in Barcelona and Madrid; in Brussels; in Vienna; and in Portugal in Oporto and Boavista. They had a jacket shop in London and stores in Dublin, Amsterdam, Finland, Denmark, Sarajevo, and Belgrade. The Secondigliano clans also crossed the Atlantic, investing “in Canada, the United States, even in South America. The American network was immense; millions of jeans were sold in shops in New York, Miami Beach, New Jersey, and Chicago, and they virtually monopolized the market in Florida. American retailers and shopping-center owners wanted to deal exclusively with Secondigliano brokers; haute couture garments from big-name designers at reasonable prices meant that crowds of customers would flock to their shopping centers and malls. The names on the labels were perfect.






A matrix for printing Versace’s signature Medusa’s head was found in” “in a lab on the outskirts of Naples. In Secondigliano word spread that the American market was dominated by Directory clothes, making it easier for young people eager to go to America and become salespeople. They were inspired by the success of Vip Moda, whose jeans filled Texas stores, where they were passed off as Valentino.





Business spread to the southern hemisphere as well. A boutique in Five Dock, New South Wales, became one of Australia’s hottest addresses for elegant clothing, and there were also shops and warehouses in Sydney. The Secondigliano clans dominated the clothing market” “market in Brazil—in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. They had plans to open a store for American and European tourists in Cuba, and they’d been investing in Saudi Arabia and North Africa for a while. The distribution mechanism the Directory had put in place was based on warehouses—that’s how they’re referred to in the wiretappings—veritable clearing stations for people and merchandise, depots for every kind of clothing.




The warehouses were the center of a commercial hub, the place where agents picked up the merchandise to be distributed to the clans’ stores or other retailers. It was an old concept, that of the magliari, the Neapolitan traveling salesmen; after the “salesmen; after the Second World War they invaded half the planet, eating up the miles lugging their bags stuffed with socks, shirts, and jackets. Applying their age-old mercantile experience on a larger scale, the magliari became full-fledged commercial agents who could sell anywhere and everywhere, from neighborhood markets to malls, from parking lots to gas stations. The best of them made a qualitative leap, selling large lots of clothing directly to retailers.



According to investigations, some businessmen organized the distribution of fakes, offering logistical support to the sales reps, the magliari. They paid travel and hotel expenses in advance, provided vans” “provided vans and cars, and guaranteed legal assistance in the case of arrest or confiscation of merchandise. And of course they pocketed the earnings. A business with an annual turnover of about 300 million euros per family.



The Italian labels started to protest against the Secondigliano cartels’ huge fake market only after the DDA uncovered the entire operation. Before that, they had no plans for a negative publicity campaign, never filed charges, or divulged to the press the harmful workings of the illegal production. It is difficult to comprehend why the brands never took a stand against the clans, but there are probably many reasons.

“Denouncing them would have meant forgoing once and for all their cheap labor sources in Campania and Puglia. The clans would have closed down access to the clothing factories around Naples and hindered relations with those in Eastern Europe and Asia. And given the vast number of shopping centers operated directly by the clans, denouncing them would have jeopardized thousands of retail sales contacts. In many places the families handle transportation and agents, so fingering them would have meant a sudden rise in distribution costs. Besides, the clans weren’t ruining the brands’ image, but simply taking advantage of their advertising and “advertising and symbolic charisma.



The garments they turned out were not inferior and didn’t disgrace the brands’ quality or design image. Not only did the clans not create any symbolic competition with the designer labels, they actually helped promote products whose market price made them prohibitive to the general public. In short, the clans were promoting the brand. If hardly anyone wears a label’s clothes, if they’re seen only on live mannequins on the runway, the market slowly dies and the prestige of the name declines. What’s more, the Neapolitan factories produced counterfeit garments in sizes that the designer labels, for the sake of their” “of their image, do not make. But the clans certainly weren’t going to trouble themselves about image when there was a profit to be made.


Through the true fake business and income from drug trafficking, the Secondigliano clans acquired stores and shopping centers where genuine articles were increasingly mixed in with the fakes, thus erasing any distinction. In a way the System sustained the legal fashion empire in a moment of crisis; by taking advantage of sharply rising prices, it continued to promote Italian-made goods throughout the world, earning exponential sums.
The Secondigliano clans realized that “realized that their vast international distribution and sales network was their greatest asset, even stronger than drug trafficking. Narcotics and clothing often moved along the same routes”

Now, Imo as long as they control this racket, I can't actually put Costa Nostra ahead of them, nothing outside of large scale narcotics trafficking really...


Excerpt From: Roberto Saviano & Virginia Jewiss. “Gomorrah.” Picador, 2007. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.

Check out this book on the iBooks Store: https://itun.es/us/rlf9w.l

Here is one more on Di Lauros business savvy...



“The System’s entrepreneurial energies were also invested in technology, however. Investigations in 2004 revealed that the clans use their commercial networks to import Chinese high-tech products for European distribution. Europe had the form—the brand, the fame, and the advertising—and China the content—the actual product, cheap labor, and inexpensive materials. The System brought the two together, winning out all around. Aware that the economy was on the brink”, the clans targeted Chinese industrial zones already manufacturing for big Western companies; in this they followed the pattern of businesses that first invested in southern Italy’s urban sprawl and then gradually shifted to China.



They got the idea of ordering batches of high-tech products to resell on the European market, obviously with a fake brand name that would increase desirability. But they were cautious; as with a batch of cocaine, they first tested the quality of the products the Chinese factories sold them. After confirming their market validity, they launched one of the most prosperous intercontinental dealings in criminal history. Digital cameras, video” “cameras, video cameras, and power tools: drills, grinders, pneumatic hammers, planes, and sanders, all marketed as Bosch, Hammer, or Hilti.


When the Secondigliano boss Paolo Di Lauro started doing business with China, he was ten years ahead of the initiative of Confindustria, the Italian Manufacturers’ Association, to improve business ties with Asia. The Di Lauro clan sold thousands of Canons and Hitachis on the East European market. Thanks to Camorra imports, items that were once the prerogative of the upper-middle class were now accessible to a broader public. To guarantee a stronger entry into the market, the clans offered practically the identical product, slapping the brand name on at the end.
The Di Lauro and Contini clans’ investment in China, which was the focus of a 2004 Naples DDA inquiry, demonstrates the entrepreneurial farsightedness of the bosses...

Actually one more excerpt, this goes to Naples and the drug trade...



“Raffaele Abbinante. He was one of the most charismatic figures in Spain, where he was in command of the Costa del Sol region. In 1997, 2,500 kilos of hashish, 1,020 ecstasy pills, and 1,500 kilos of cocaine were seized in a huge operation. The authorities proved that the Neapolitan cartels of the Abbinantes and Nuvolettas were managing” “nearly all the synthetic-drug traffic in Spain and Italy”

Now the question is if this is still true today. Do the Naples clans still control all the synthetics? I ask because the calabrians are moving mountains of synthetics in Australia. Do they buy from the Naples gangs? I'm not sure, but if the Naples guys have ALL the synthetics, ALL the hash, ALL the heroin, and handle a good portion of the coke, who knows?

If these recent indictments have shown me anything, it's that the SIDERNO GROUP is the one with the direct line to Colombia. I'm not sure if that's true for the rest of the Ndrangheta clans...

Any more thoughts on this fellas?

The Camorra is still important in smuggling (cigarettes, counterfeit stuff, drugs etc..) because they control an important seaport in southern Europe. Similar to Marseille.

One of the better articles on the Italian crime groups.



Italian mafia: Who are Cosa Nostra, Camorra, 'Ndrangheta and Sacra Corona Unita?
Umberto Bacchi By Umberto Bacchi
May 7, 2015


The Italian organised crime scene has long been dominated by a multitude of clans and mob families, all generally referred to as "mafia".

The term broadly implies these gangs, besides running a series of illicit businesses, also pervade the social environment in which they operate, influencing aspects of public and private life to cement their power.

Based on the location of their heartlands, the various clans are traditionally divided in four umbrella groups: Cosa Nostra in Sicily, Camorra in Campania, 'Ndrangheta in Calabria and the Sacra Corona Unita in Apulia.

Belonging to one group does not translate into an automatic alliance to other gangs populating them, as families are actually often at war with each other. Nevertheless, geographical contiguity does come with some shared distinctive traits. IBTimes UK takes a look at them.

Sicilian mafia - Cosa Nostra

Sicilian mafia is the oldest of the four Italian crime syndicates and, in fact, the term "mafia" was initially exclusively used to indicate what would have later become known as Cosa Nostra.

"The issue of Cosa Nostra has been under the spotlight of public debate basically since the Italian unification (1861)," said mafia expert Salvatore Lupo, a professor of contemporary history at the University of Palermo.

"Particularly in the city of Palermo and the surrounding province, we can trace some clans way back into the past, with a certain degree of continuity in their main family, stronghold and characteristic crimes."

Illicit businesses

Cosa Nostra reached its power peak in the 1980s and up to the early 1990s under the rule of Salvatore Riina, infamously known as the boss of bosses.

Before his arrest in 1993, Riina waged an all-out war against the state with a series of high-profile assassinations, including those of carabinieri police general Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa and anti-mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.

The confrontation resulted in a heavy crackdown by authorities that, in the span of two decades eventually succeeded in significantly curbing Cosa Nostra's power.

Once one of the main global drug-smuggling players, today the Sicilian mafia is mainly involved in local criminal activities, such as infiltrating public construction works and running extortion rackets.

Curiosity

According to Lupo, Cosa Nostra is the most bourgeoisies of mafias, as it has historically penetrated all levels of society, with associates holding medium and high political and business roles.

"More than other crime syndicates Cosa Nostra has expanded from the criminal world to that of the so called respectable people," he said.

Most wanted men

Matteo Messina Denaro

Born on 26 April 1962 in Castelvetrano, Trapani he is sought after since 1993 on a series of charges including mafia association, murder, mass killing and theft.

Giovanni Motisi

Born on 1 January 1959 in Palermo, he is sought after since 1998 on a series of charges including mafia association and mass killing. He has also to serve a life term.


Calabrian mafia - 'Ndrangheta

In recent years, 'Ndrangheta has become Italy's most powerful and feared mafia group. Part of its criminal success is owed to its secretive nature.

As clans are founded on strict blood ties, members rarely turn informers, making detectives' work harder.

"They do not cooperate with authorities because to them it means turning in a relative, a son, a cousin or a nephew," explained Enzo Ciconte, a professor of organised crime history at Rome's University.

"Such structure also allows clans to create a stable presence abroad. Families often decide to send a member to live and work - legally - in London, Paris or Australia. Then, while there, this person acts as bridgehead for illegal traffics."

This system has enabled 'Ndrangheta to become the first Italian mafia to have consolidated footholds in Italy's industrial north.

"While other groups send envoys to the north to close a deal and come back home, 'Ndrangheta mobsters arrive to stay," Ciconte said.

Illicit businesses

'Ndrangheta is widely regarded as the group that has filled the void left by Cosa Nostra on the international drug trafficking stage, gaining the crown of Europe's biggest drug cartel.

A series of recent investigations has showed how its clans have become the favourite business partners for US mafia families, previously tied to the Sicilian mob.

Besides drug trafficking, 'Ndrangheta gangs are involved in pretty much any profitable illicit activity, but prostitution, according to Ciconte.

Curiosity

'Ndrangheta fugitives make a large use of underground bunkers as shelter. The crime syndicate is also infamous for its masonic-esque initiation ceremonies and encrypted messaging system.

Most wanted men

Giuseppe Giorgi

Born on 6 March 1961 in San Luca, Reggio Calabria, he is sought after since 1995 on a series of charges including mafia association, drug trafficking extortion and murder. He has also to serve a 17-year jail sentence.

Rocco Morabito

Born on 13 October 1966 in Africo, Reggio Calabria, he is sought after since 1994 on a series of charges including mafia association and drug trafficking. He has also to serve a life term.

Ernesto Fazzalari

Born on 16 September 1969 in Taurianova, Reggio Calabria, he is sought after since 1996 on a series of charges including mafia association, drug and weapons trafficking, murder and robbery . He has also to serve a 30-year jail sentence.


Campania mafia - Camorra

Analysts divide Camorra into two subgroups: the so-called metropolitan and provincial Camorra.

Metropolitan camorra is typical of the Naples area and is characterised by a very fragmented criminal scene, with myriad medium-small gangs controlling neighbourhoods and districts.

"They are street organisations similar to American gangs," said Camorra expert Marcello Ravveduto, a researcher at Salerno University.

Provincial camorra refers instead principally to clans based in rural areas surrounding the city of Caserta. These have a more established structure permeating the region's political and business scene, in a similar fashion to Cosa Nostra and 'Ndrangheta.

This type of camorra has long been embodied by Casalesi clan that was named after the town of Casale di Principe.

Illicit businesses

While the Casalesi clan is generally in the same lines of business as other mafias, metropolitan Camorra gangs have a peculiar expertise in small crimes and particularly in the counterfeiting and contraband of goods such as music records, DVDs and cigarettes.

"Camorra informer Carmine Giuliano once told prosecutors that counterfeiting was the second most profitable market for Camorra clans," Ravveduto said.

"In the 1990s and 2000s police found large counterfeiting factories where clans produced all sort of goods also stamping them with the words 'made in China' to counter competition from Chinese counterfeiters. That could have happened only in Naples."

Curiosities

Metropolitan Camorra mobsters have, more than their mafioso colleagues, a tendency to show off the riches amassed through crime.

"Mobsters usually come from working-class, poor families and are inclined to boast about sudden enrichment. There is no bourgeois mafia culture [in Naples]," said Ravveduto. "Showing off richness also serves to build power, winning the approval of those attracted by success."

Casalesi now-jailed boss Francesco Schiavone, nicknamed "Sandokan" after a fictional pirate from a popular Italian novel, lived in a Casal di Principe villa that was the exact replica of the house inhabited by Tony Montana (Al Pacino) in Hollywood movie Scarface.

Most wanted man

Marco di Lauro

Born on 16 June 1980 in Naples, he is sought after since 2005 on a series of mafia-related charges.


Apulia Mafia - Sacra Corona Unita

The Sacra Corona Unita is the least influential of the four Italian mafias. Some analysts, including Lupo, even dispute its definition as mafia, arguing the syndicate is actually a loose group of criminal organisation lacking the mob defining traits sported by Cosa Nostra, 'Ndrangheta and Camorra clans.

The Sacra Corona Unita is said to have been originally founded in the 1970 as a Camorra spinoff by crime boss Raffaele Cutolo.

Drug smuggling and contraband from the Balkans and Eastern Europe are among its main illicit activities.

One of its leaders, Alberto Lorusso, recently made headlines as he became the behind-bars confidant of Mafia overlord Salvatore "Totò" Riina.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/italian-mafia-w...a-unita-1500221