Sometime last year, Cosimo di Lauro's reign began to go wrong. Police say he tried to centralize an operation that had been run as a franchise business in which drug dealers simply paid the di Lauros a fee for trading and were allowed buy the drugs from any available source.
Police say that Cosimo di Lauro then decided that all drugs must be bought from the di Lauros, leading a local dealer, Raffaele Amato, to dispute the new rules, flee to Spain and organize a revolt. Di Lauro responded by ordering the killing of two rebel associates, Fulvio Montanino and Claudio Salerno on Oct. 28, police contend. During their funeral three days later, police arrested two men armed with machine guns who police said were planning to spray the funeral procession.
Italian police officers in November searched a building in Naples' Scampia neighborhood, the center of a violent struggle for control of an international drug smuggling enterprise run by the camorra, the Neapolitan version of the Mafia.
(Salvatore Laporta -- AP)
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It was just the beginning. Any connection with one of the warring combatants could mean death. Salvatore Peluso was killed on Nov. 12 while sitting down to a pizza. His son had escaped an ambush a few days earlier, and police believe that Peluso was simply a convenient substitute target.
On Nov. 22, gunmen abducted Gelsomina Verde, 20, beat her up, shot her in the neck, stuffed her body into a Fiat sedan and set the car on fire. According to the police, the killers wanted Verde to locate her boyfriend, one of the secessionist "Spaniards."
A national uproar ensued and the Italian government sent in 300 law enforcement officers to reinforce Naples police. On Dec. 7, police raided Scampia and arrested 53 camorra suspects. Yet the killings continued.
Shortly after New Year's Day, Italy's president, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, visited Scampia to rally citizens against the camorra. About 200 spectators showed up. They were outnumbered by Ciampi's security detail.
Police arrested Cosimo di Lauro on Jan. 21 and expressed hopes that the war would end. Instead, seven killings followed in quick succession. Residents of Scampia demonstrated against the arrest and threw rocks and bottles at law enforcement officers. School children exchanged images on their cell phones of men being led away as if they were photos of soccer stars at play.
Scampia is di Lauro territory. It began as a bedroom community in the 1960s and grew dramatically after a 1980 earthquake with construction of housing for displaced Neapolitans. Huge apartment complexes, wide boulevards and a massive park were built, without commercial districts or entertainment venues.
One notorious set of apartment buildings featured pyramidal wings connected by ramps and staircases crisscrossing within a concrete canyon. A hidden haven for drug dealers and their clients was created. As for the park, it is the preserve of pushers and addicts.
Unlike in typical Italian neighborhoods, there is almost no street life, although Scampia has a population of 80,000. Apartment building parking lots are barred and gated: some protect residents from criminals; others keep police from entering easily.
Spotting gang members on Scampia's semi-deserted streets is easy. They lounge around the entrances to apartment complexes, with time on their hands and watchfulness in their eyes. Drug dealers travel in black sedans. On several days last year di Lauro followers set up roadblocks on Scampia streets and inspected vehicles for rivals and undercover police.
"You can preach about good and evil as much as you want," said Fabrizio Valletti, a Roman Catholic priest in Scampia, "but the temptation of big money is always here."
Valletti presided at a Mass last month for a dead gang member. The church was packed with young people who prayed for the victim to intercede with God to protect them from harm. "It was an instant beatification," Valletti said.
City officials say their main social strategy for combating the camorra is to provide work opportunities outside the crime network. Late last year, municipal officials inaugurated what they called a "telematic plaza," a building where youths could come to learn computer skills and entertain themselves on PCs.
The place remained empty except for a few city workers. The main Scampia cafe near the park is also shut down. It belongs to associates of Paolo di Lauro, Valletti said. "It will be interesting to see which of the two places attracts customers first."
Special correspondent Stacy Meichtry contributed to this report.
