Singer, Mobster's Widow Held In Naples Mafia Swoop
By AFP - Agence France Presse
October 17, 2023

A local singer and a mafioso's widow were among 27 people arrested Tuesday during a crackdown on members of the Naples mafia, who named one of their businesses after the Sicilian mob.

Neapolitan crooner Antonio "Tony" Colombo and his wife Tina Rispoli, the widow of assassinated "Camorra" boss Gaetano Marino, are suspected of working with the clan of jailed mobster Marco Di Lauro, police said.

Among the clan's investments was a ready-to-wear line entitled "Corleone", after the Sicilian town whose name was used for the fictional Mafia family in "The Godfather" films.

In the same spirit, the clan was also said to have launched an energy drink called "9 mm", a common size of ammunition for handguns.

Colombo, 37, announced his retirement from singing in 2020, a year after he married Rispoli, who was widowed when her mobster husband was gunned down on an Italian beach in 2012.

Colombo's latest song, "Ti aspetto all'Altare" ("I'm waiting for you at the altar), has nearly 60 million views on YouTube.

Among the 27 suspects targeted in Tuesday's operation was also a driver from the anti-mafia prosecutor's office, police said.