Camorra

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Camorristi in Naples, 1906

The Camorra is a mafia-like criminal organization, or secret society, in the region of Campania and the city of Naples in Italy.

1 Background
2 Presence In America
3 Useful bibliography
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Background

The Camorra was at its height in the 19th century, when the Bourbon monarchy in Naples used its members in the police, army, and civil service. Once Naples became a part of a united Italy in 1861, the Camorra was suppressed and many of its members fled to the United States where they joined the Italian-American Mafia. The Camorra was supplanted after Benito Mussolini's takeover in 1922.

Compared to its counterparts elsewhere in Italy, Sacra corona unita in Puglia and 'Ndrangheta in Calabria, it was more involved in piracy. Also, compared to the Sicilian Cosa Nostra's pyramidal structure, the Camorra is made up of many clans that often fight each other. Drive-by shootings by camorristi often result in casualties among the local populations, but such episodes are often difficult to investigate because of widespread Omertà (code of silence).

Raffaele Cutolo made an attempt to unify the Camorra families in the manner of the Sicilian Mafia, by forming the New Organized Camorra (Nuova Camorra Organizzata or NCO), but this proved unsuccessful.

The Camorra is said by some authoritative sources to have originated with the Garduna, a late-Middle-Ages criminal society based in Seville, Spain, which was transported to Naples when Spain took control of the region.

Scotland has had its brush with the Camorra, Antonio La Torres of Aberdeen, Scotland was a "Don" of the Camorra. He was convicted in Scotland awaiting extradition to Italy[1].

[edit] Presence In America

The Camorra existed in USA between the mid- 1800s and early 1900s. They rivaled the Morello crime family for power in New York. Their presence today in the U.S. is assured by the business of false clothes, which are originally manufactured in Naples, Italy, and then exported to the United States together with drugs.

Camorra is a 1972 movie, directed by Pasquale Squitieri, starring Fabio Testi and Jean Seberg.