Raffaele Amato

Raffaele Amato is an Italian Camorra boss and head of the Scissionisti di Secondigliano, a Camorra clan from the Napoletano district of Naples. He is known by multiple nicknames in the Neapolitan criminal underworld, including "Lo Spagnolo" (The Spaniard), "'o Lell", "Lell o' chiatt'" and "'a vechhiarella".it icon [http://www.repubblica.it/2005/a/sezioni/cronaca/napolitre/amato/amato.html Camorra, arrestato Amato il capo degli scissionisti] , La Repubblica, February 27, 2005]

The Scissionisti are also known as "Spagnoli" (Spaniards) because of their endless trips ferrying cocaine from Galicia in Spain. Amato and his clan were once a faction within the Di Lauro clan, headed by Paolo Di Lauro. However, after Di Lauro became a wanted fugitive in 2002 and his son Vincenzo's arrest in 2003, Cosimo Di Lauro took charge of the clan. Cosimo wanted to centralize the drug dealing operation that had been run as a franchise in which dealers paid the Di Lauros a fee for doing business and were allowed to buy the drugs from any available source. He also removed older gangsters and replaced them with young toughs new to the business. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6310-2005Feb7.html In Naples, a Mob Family Feud] , The Washington Post, February 8, 2005]

In revolt, Amato later split from the Di Lauro clan in October 2004, disputed the new rules, fled to Spain and organized a revolt against his former bosses. From there, he tried to assert the Scissionisti's control over drugs and prostitution rackets in the areas, that included Secondigliano and Scampia as its nerve centres. The war, known as the Scampia feud (Italian "faida di Scampìa"), resulted in over 60 murders in 2004 and 2005. The feud caused widespread public revulsion against the Camorra and led to a major crackdown by the authorities.

On February 26, 2005, Amato was arrested along with five other clan members by the Spanish police while leaving a casino in Barcelona. His arrest came one month after that of his arch-enemy Cosimo Di Lauro. Amato was eventually extradited to Italy, where he had been accused of murder and drug trafficking. The Italian Interior minister, Giuseppe Pisanu hailed his capture as "a signal to the people of Naples that we are winning the fight against the Mafia". He stated that his capture meant the two Camorra factions blamed for the spate of killings in Naples have both been decapitated. Furthermore, Pisanu urged more witnesses to break Omerta, the Camorra code of silence and step forward with evidence. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4303235.stm 'Naples crime boss' held in Spain] , BBC News, February 28, 2005]

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