Lorenzo Nuvoletta
Encyclopedia
Lorenzo Nuvoletta was the head of the Nuvoletta clan
, a Neapolitan Camorra
organisation operating from the town of Marano di Napoli
, situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Naples
.
(EEC) and intimidating insurance officials, as well as local farmers who took loans from finance companies managed by the Nuvolettas.
) Tommaso Buscetta
he was close to Luciano Leggio
and Salvatore Riina
and his Corleonesi
, as well as Michele Greco
, to which Mafia family the Nuvoletta clan answered. According to Mafia boss Giuseppe Di Cristina
, the Nuvolettas managed a deposit and possibly a heroin refinery on Liggio's behalf. Several Camorra and Mafia clans struck a deal on the division of the shiploads of contraband cigarettes arriving in the port of Naples
at a meeting in 1974 in the villa of Lorenzo Nuvoletta in Marano. With Umberto Ammaturo
, the clan also engaged in cocaine trafficking.
The Nuvolettas, and in particular Lorenzo as one the most charismatic members of the entire organisation, were important members of the Nuova Famiglia
(NF) a coalition of Camorra clans created in the 1980s to face Raffaele Cutolo
's Nuova Camorra Organizzata
(NCO). Cutolo wanted to unite the Camorra under his leadership. The support of the Sicilian Mafia was crucial in the war between the NF and the NCO, which ended with the defeat of Cutolo. However, with Cutolo and the NCO out of the picture, the NF alliance soon disintegrated, with a war breaking out between the clan headed by Antonio Bardellino
and the Nuvolettas towards the end of 1983.
issued an arrest warrant against Nuvoletta for mafia association.
On December 7, 1990, he was arrested, during a summit of the clan at his villa bunker just outside Marano, together with his brother Ciro and other members of the clan as well as the local Christian Democrat politician. He had been a fugitive for ten years. In January 1992, he was sentenced to nine years for Mafia association.
Because of a serious illness he was granted house arrest. He died on April 7, 1994, from liver cancer.
Nuvoletta clan
The Nuvoletta clan is a Neapolitan Camorra clan operating from the town of Marano di Napoli, situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Naples, southern Italy.-Background:...
, a Neapolitan Camorra
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:...
organisation operating from the town of Marano di Napoli
Marano di Napoli
Marano di Napoli is a comune in the Province of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 9 km northwest of Naples.-Main sights:...
, situated on the northern outskirts of the city of 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...
.
The Nuvoletta clan
Lorenzo Nuvoletta and his brothers Ciro, Gaetano and Angelo were the heirs to a family of landowners. His grandfather and mother had accumulated large areas of land, with its fruit crops exported to other areas. In the 1960s, they joined the clan of Antonio Maisto who was smuggling contraband cigarettes. After their early exploits with the Maisto clan, they diversified and became significant landowners using state funds designed to set up small agricultural landholdings. They made their fortune swindling the Italian government and the European Economic CommunityEuropean Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
(EEC) and intimidating insurance officials, as well as local farmers who took loans from finance companies managed by the Nuvolettas.
Links with the Sicilian Mafia
Apart from being a member of the Camorra, Lorenzo Nuvoletto was also initiated in the Sicilian Mafia. According to Mafia turncoat (pentitoPentito
Pentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations...
) Tommaso Buscetta
Tommaso Buscetta
Tommaso Buscetta was a Sicilian mafioso. Although he was not the first pentito in the Italian witness protection program, he is widely recognized as the first important one breaking omertà...
he was close to Luciano Leggio
Luciano Leggio
Luciano Leggio was an Italian criminal and leading figure of the Sicilian Mafia. He was the head of the Corleonesi, the Mafia faction that originated in the town of Corleone...
and Salvatore Riina
Salvatore Riina
Salvatore "Totò" Riina is a member of the Sicilian Mafia who became the most powerful member of the criminal organization in the early 1980s. Fellow mobsters nicknamed him The Beast due to his violent nature, or sometimes The Short One due to his diminutive stature...
and his Corleonesi
Corleonesi
The Corleonesi is the name given to a faction within the Sicilian Mafia that dominated Cosa Nostra in the 1980s and the 1990s. It was called the Corleonesi because its most important leaders came from the town of Corleone, first Luciano Leggio and later Totò Riina, Bernardo Provenzano and Leoluca...
, as well as Michele Greco
Michele Greco
Michele Greco was a member of the Sicilian Mafia, previously incarcerated for multiple murders. His nickname was "il Papa" because of his ability to mediate between different Mafia families...
, to which Mafia family the Nuvoletta clan answered. According to Mafia boss Giuseppe Di Cristina
Giuseppe Di Cristina
Giuseppe Di Cristina was a powerful mafioso from Riesi in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, southern Italy...
, the Nuvolettas managed a deposit and possibly a heroin refinery on Liggio's behalf. Several Camorra and Mafia clans struck a deal on the division of the shiploads of contraband cigarettes arriving in the port of 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...
at a meeting in 1974 in the villa of Lorenzo Nuvoletta in Marano. With Umberto Ammaturo
Umberto Ammaturo
Umberto Ammaturo is an Italian criminal and a member of the Neapolitan Camorra. He specialized in cocaine trafficking from South America. He was included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy until his capture in May 1993...
, the clan also engaged in cocaine trafficking.
The Nuvolettas, and in particular Lorenzo as one the most charismatic members of the entire organisation, were important members of the Nuova Famiglia
Nuova Famiglia
The Nuova Famiglia was an Italian Camorra criminal organization created in the 1980s to face Raffaele Cutolo's Nuova Camorra Organizzata....
(NF) a coalition of Camorra clans created in the 1980s to face Raffaele Cutolo
Raffaele Cutolo
Raffaele Cutolo is an Italian crime boss and the charismatic leader of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata , an organisation he built to renew the Camorra. Cutolo has a variety of nicknames including "'o Vangelo" , "'o Principe" , "'o Professore" and "'o Monaco"...
's Nuova Camorra Organizzata
Nuova Camorra Organizzata
The Nuova Camorra Organizzata was an Italian Camorra criminal organization founded in the late 1970s by a Neapolitan Camorrista, Raffaele Cutolo, in the region of Campania. It was also known by the initials NCO...
(NCO). Cutolo wanted to unite the Camorra under his leadership. The support of the Sicilian Mafia was crucial in the war between the NF and the NCO, which ended with the defeat of Cutolo. However, with Cutolo and the NCO out of the picture, the NF alliance soon disintegrated, with a war breaking out between the clan headed by Antonio Bardellino
Antonio Bardellino
Antonio Bardellino was a powerful Neapolitan Camorrista and boss of the Casalesi clan, having a prominent role in the organized crime in the province of Caserta during the 1980s...
and the Nuvolettas towards the end of 1983.
Arrest
In 1984, the Antimafia judge Giovanni FalconeGiovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone was an Sicilian/Italian prosecuting magistrate born in Palermo, Sicily. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Mafia in Sicily...
issued an arrest warrant against Nuvoletta for mafia association.
On December 7, 1990, he was arrested, during a summit of the clan at his villa bunker just outside Marano, together with his brother Ciro and other members of the clan as well as the local Christian Democrat politician. He had been a fugitive for ten years. In January 1992, he was sentenced to nine years for Mafia association.
Because of a serious illness he was granted house arrest. He died on April 7, 1994, from liver cancer.