Brief History of Camorra Mafia Organization (Part One)
THE ORIGINS AND THE FIRST ORGANIZATIONAL FORMS (1800s-1860)
“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist” — Roger “Verbal” Kint (The Usual Suspects).
There is no better way to describe how organized crime groups have been able to become one of the greatest threats to contemporary society. These organizations operate both in legal and illegal markets exploiting their ability to keep secrets and the “omertà” (silence) of external people who want to take advantage of their business. For this reason, even their origins are shrouded in mystery.
Indeed, there are no historical documents regarding the birth of Camorra, apart from the reports written by the Italian-Swiss writer Marc Monnier, a few papers by the Bourbon police archives, and, after 1861, official documents produced by the newborn Italian administration. According to them, the first organizational forms developed in the first half of the Nineteenth century in the Neapolitan prisons and army stations. The lack of official sources makes it difficult to assert any other statement about the real origin of this phenomenon.
Since the beginning, Camorra’s groups had a solid internal division with three different hierarchical levels (in order of importance: “Picciotto d’Onore”, “Picciotto di Sgarro”, and “Camorrista”), while each district of Naples had a chief called “Caposocietà” which had the right to elect the “Padrone” or “Capintesta”, the head of Camorra. Moreover, the members had written and unwritten rules and a tribunal for each district (namely, the “Mamma”) which referred to the supreme judiciary organ: the “Gran Mamma”. The main businesses were usury, extortion, and smuggling.
THE UNIFICATION OF ITALY (1860–1861)
In the 1860–1861 years, Cavour and the Savoia completed the unification of the Reign of Italy annexing the Southern regions to the rest of the peninsula. The end of the independence of the “Regno delle Due Sicilie” (Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) controlled by the House of Bourbon triggered the explosion of heavy protests in Naples and other cities. The unpreparedness of the new head of the police, Liborio Romano, pushed him to nominate Salvatore de Crescenzo — the “Capintesta” at that time — as a police officer since the Camorra was known to be able to control people and put them under their will. For this reason, the Savoia nominated many Camorristi as commissioners and policemen. By doing so, criminals were able to stop the rebellions but, at the same time, they even strengthened their businesses and control over the population.
THE FIGHT AGAINST THE CAMORRA (1861–1900)
After the replacement of Liborio Romano with Silvio Spaventa, the new police chief started to eliminate the presence of Camorristi in the police force. The repression increased during the so-called “Era of Brigandage” when bands of gangsters robbed and killed random travelers and civilians. During these years (1860–1870), the governments put in action a violent response that had great repercussions on the Camorristi even if they were not proper brigands. Nonetheless, in 1870, the brigandage phenomenon was completely defeated and the Camorra was able to continue its businesses.
At that moment, the Camorra was already deeply involved in Naples’s civil society. Many politicians started to exploit the Camorra’s abilities to control people in order to gain votes in exchange for favors. It must be highlighted that the internal corruption of the Neapolitan public administration and the developing practice of favoritism — addressed in the “Saredo Inquiry” of 1901 — provoked the degradation of the political and economic structure of the city of Naples. This is one of the main factors that contributed to the strengthening of the Camorra.
THE DEFEAT OF THE ORIGINAL CAMORRA (1900–1912)
In 1906, the Camorrista Gennaro Cuocolo was found dead on a beach in Torre del Greco. At the same time, several important and well-known members of the Camorra were having a dinner close to the crime scene. The investigation led by the head of the Carabinieri (Italian police force), Carlo Fabroni, brought to light the profound link between Camorra and the Italian magistracy which freed the Camorristi due to the lack of evidence. The scandal led to a trial that ended in 1912 with a guilty sentence for the defendants. For the first time in one hundred years, the original Camorra was defeated. In fact, the Cuocolo trial provoked the disappearance of the hierarchical structure that characterized the mafia organization until 1912. After the first-ever trial against the Mafia as a unique organization, the association changed radically starting the process that would have turned it into the Camorra we know nowadays.
The main source of the article is the book “Storia della Camorra” by Francesco Barbagallo (2010).
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