Licciardi clan

The Licciardi clan is a powerful Neapolitan Camorra clan which operates in the remote areas of Naples, specifically in the Secondigliano district and its stronghold of Masseria Cardone. Its sphere of influence extends to Scampia, Chiaiano, Miano and San Pietro a Patierno.

History

In the mid eighties, Gennaro Licciardi, known as "a scigna-la scimmia", "the monkey" was the capozona in the district of Secondigliano for the Giuliano clan of Forcella. At that time, Licciardi was the second-in-command to boss Luigi Giuliano. The outskirts of the Secondigliano district was considered to be unimportant by the other Camorra bosses. A few years later, Gennaro Licciardi formed a fully independent clan that managed to turn the area into a strategic hub for the storage and trafficking of drugs. He also became the founding member of the Secondigliano Alliance, a coalition of powerful Camorra clans which controls drug trafficking and the extortion rackets in many suburbs of Naples. Apart from the Licciardi clan, the alliance included the Contini, Mallardo, Lo Russo, Stabile, Prestieri, Bocchetti and Di Lauro clans.

After the death of Gennaro by blood poisoning in the Voghera prison on August 3, 1994, the management of the clan fell entirely to the brothers, Pietro "the Roman Emperor" and Vincenzo and also to his sister Maria, known as "la piccoletta", "the little one".^[1]

The clan used its influence to mediate between the Di Lauro clan and the so-called "secessionists" (Italian "scissionisti"), a breakaway fraction from the Di Lauro clan in the northern suburbs of Naples that tried to assert its control over drugs and prostitution rackets in the area. It therefore played an important role in putting an end to the Scampia feud.

On May 9, 2008, the Carabinieri seized goods worth 300 million euros and arrested 44 members of the Licciardi clan.^[2]

References