Cosimo Di Lauro
Encyclopedia
Cosimo Di Lauro is an Italian Camorrista
and former acting boss of the Di Lauro clan
from Naples
. Due to his flamboyant nature and passion for designer clothes, he earned the nickname "The Designer Don". Di Lauro is known by some as "o' Chiatto" (fat boy), and to journalists as the "prince regent".
aka Ciruzzo 'o milionario ("Ciruzzo the millionaire"), Cosimo took over control of the family business after his father needed to hide from the police.
Cosimo Di Lauro 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 removed older gangsters and replaced them with young toughs new to the business. In revolt, a faction known as the "secessionists"
(Italian
: Scissionisti) challenged the Di Lauros in October 2004.
, disputed the new rules, fled to Spain and organized a revolt against his former bosses. In Scampia
, they are known as the Spaniards. Di Lauro responded by ordering the killing of two rebel associates, Fulvio Montanino and Claudio Salerno on October 28, 2004. During their funeral three days later, police arrested two men armed with machine guns who were planning to spray the funeral procession.
The resulting gang war, known as the Scampia feud
, resulted in over 60 murders in 2004 and 2005. The two bands fought each other with a brutality that stunned even hardened Carabinieri. The feud caused widespread public revulsion against the Camorra and led to a major crackdown by the authorities, resulting in the capture and imprisonment of high ranking Camorra figures, including his father.
. In February, 2008, he was handed down a 15 year prison sentence for associazione camorristica. On December 13, 2008, he was again sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering the murder of Gelsomina Verde
, the former girlfriend of a rival Scissionisti gangster, Gennaro Notturno on November 21, 2004.
Gelsomina was abducted, tortured and subsequently murdered by Di Lauro clan
members, in an effort to make her disclose Notturno's whereabouts. The killers then set her body on fire inside her car, in order to protect them from the "evil eye".
newspaper. "Someone with money, women and power. He even looks good when the handcuffs are being slapped on his wrists."
Camorra
The Camorra is a Mafia-type criminal organization, or secret society, originating in the region of Campania and its capital Naples in Italy. It is one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy, dating to the 18th century.-Background:...
and former acting boss of the Di Lauro clan
Di Lauro clan
The Di Lauro clan is an Italian crime clan, part of the Camorra in Naples. The clan operates in the neighbourhoods of Secondigliano, Scampìa, Miano, Marianella, Piscinola, and in the adjacent municipalities of Casavatore, Melito, Arzano, Villaricca and Mugnano...
from Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
. Due to his flamboyant nature and passion for designer clothes, he earned the nickname "The Designer Don". Di Lauro is known by some as "o' Chiatto" (fat boy), and to journalists as the "prince regent".
Taking over from his father
As the eldest son of the Camorra boss, Paolo Di LauroPaolo Di Lauro
Paolo Di Lauro is an Italian crime boss, leader of the Di Lauro Clan, a Camorra crime organization. He is also known as Ciruzzo 'o milionario among other aliases...
aka Ciruzzo 'o milionario ("Ciruzzo the millionaire"), Cosimo took over control of the family business after his father needed to hide from the police.
Cosimo Di Lauro 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 removed older gangsters and replaced them with young toughs new to the business. In revolt, a faction known as the "secessionists"
Scissionisti di Secondigliano
The Scissionisti di Secondigliano is a Camorra clan from the Secondigliano district of Naples, headed by Raffaele Amato and Cesare Pagano. They are also known as "Spagnoli" because of their endless trips ferrying cocaine from Galicia in Spain...
(Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
: Scissionisti) challenged the Di Lauros in October 2004.
Scampia feud
One of the local dealers, Raffaele AmatoRaffaele Amato
Raffaele Amato is an Italian Camorra boss and head of the Scissionisti di Secondigliano, a Camorra clan from the Napoletano district of Naples...
, disputed the new rules, fled to Spain and organized a revolt against his former bosses. In Scampia
Scampia
Scampìa is a modern suburb in the north of Naples. The population is about 80,000.-Geography:The district lies in the far north of Naples. To the south are the suburbs of Piscinola-Marianella, Miano and Secondigliano.-History:...
, they are known as the Spaniards. Di Lauro responded by ordering the killing of two rebel associates, Fulvio Montanino and Claudio Salerno on October 28, 2004. During their funeral three days later, police arrested two men armed with machine guns who were planning to spray the funeral procession.
The resulting gang war, known as the Scampia feud
Scampia feud
The Scampia feud was a feud between the Camorra gangs in the neapolitan quartiere of Scampia and it broke out in 2004 and 2005...
, resulted in over 60 murders in 2004 and 2005. The two bands fought each other with a brutality that stunned even hardened Carabinieri. The feud caused widespread public revulsion against the Camorra and led to a major crackdown by the authorities, resulting in the capture and imprisonment of high ranking Camorra figures, including his father.
Arrest
Cosimo Di Lauro was eventually arrested on January 21, 2005, in the crime infested neighbourhood of ScampiaScampia
Scampìa is a modern suburb in the north of Naples. The population is about 80,000.-Geography:The district lies in the far north of Naples. To the south are the suburbs of Piscinola-Marianella, Miano and Secondigliano.-History:...
. In February, 2008, he was handed down a 15 year prison sentence for associazione camorristica. On December 13, 2008, he was again sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering the murder of Gelsomina Verde
Gelsomina Verde
Gelsomina Verde was an innocent victim of the Camorra who was tortured and subsequently murdered during the Scampia feud in the city of Naples on November 21, 2004. She was 22 years old....
, the former girlfriend of a rival Scissionisti gangster, Gennaro Notturno on November 21, 2004.
Gelsomina was abducted, tortured and subsequently murdered by Di Lauro clan
Di Lauro clan
The Di Lauro clan is an Italian crime clan, part of the Camorra in Naples. The clan operates in the neighbourhoods of Secondigliano, Scampìa, Miano, Marianella, Piscinola, and in the adjacent municipalities of Casavatore, Melito, Arzano, Villaricca and Mugnano...
members, in an effort to make her disclose Notturno's whereabouts. The killers then set her body on fire inside her car, in order to protect them from the "evil eye".
Camorra sex symbol
Despite his reputation for killing at least ten people, he had become an unlikely sex symbol, as teenage schoolgirls in Naples circulated his picture on their mobile phones. "He isn't a boss [to them], but someone who's made it," according to the Corriere della SeraCorriere della Sera
The Corriere della Sera is an Italian daily newspaper, published in Milan.It is among the oldest and most reputable Italian newspapers. Its main rivals are Rome's La Repubblica and Turin's La Stampa.- History :...
newspaper. "Someone with money, women and power. He even looks good when the handcuffs are being slapped on his wrists."