Salvatore Russo) is an Italian Camorrista

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 boss of the Russo clan

Russo clan (Nola)

The Russo clan is a Neapolitan Camorra clan operating in the town of Nola and its surrounding territories. Police say the Russo clan had total control over illegal activity in about 40 towns in the Naples region.-History:...

 from Nola, which he co-founded. He has been running the clan together with his brother Pasquale

Pasquale Russo

Pasquale Russo is an Italian Camorrista and boss of the Russo clan from Nola, which he co-founded. He has been running the clan together with his brother Salvatore for over thirty years...

 for over thirty years. He has been on the "most wanted list" of the Italian ministry of the Interior since 1995, for Camorra association, murder, concealment of corpse and other crimes. On April 15, 1994, an international warrant was issued against him, to be arrested for extradition.

The criminal career of the Russo brothers started in the 1970s and they had close ties to Mario Fabbrocino

Mario Fabbrocino

Mario Fabbrocino , is a powerful Italian crime boss of the Camorra – the Neapolitan mafia. He was the leader of the Fabbrocino clan, based in the Vesuvius area, with its sphere of influence around Nola, Ottaviano, San Giuseppe Vesuviano, San Gennaro Vesuviano...

 and Michele Zaza

Michele Zaza

Michele Zaza was a member of the Neapolitan Camorra who was also initiated in the Sicilian Mafia. He was known as "’O Pazzo" due to his outspoken and improbable public pronouncements...

. Later, they were in the top of the clan of Carmine Alfieri

Carmine Alfieri

Carmine Alfieri is an Italian Camorra boss, who rose from Piazzolla di Nola to become one of the most powerful members of Neapolitan Camorra in the 1980s. As boss of the Alfieri clan, he was the undisputed head of the Camorra from 1984 until his arrest in 1992...

.

In March 2008, assets worth 300 million euros belonging to the Russo clan were seized by the Italian State, including real estate, two supermarkets, luxury cars, and Swiss bank accounts. Police said the Russo clan had total control over illegal activity in about 40 towns in the Naples region.

Salvatore Russo was arrested on October 31, 2009, in Somma Vesuviana

Somma Vesuviana

Somma Vesuviana is a town and comune in the province of Napoli, Campania, Italy.-History:Before the Roman colonization, the area of today's Somma Vesuviana was probably inhabiteed by Italics populations like Samnites and Oscans. Later it became a vacation place for the rich patricians of Rome, who...

, close to his native area Nola

Nola

Nola is a city and comune of Campania, southern Italy, in the province of Naples, situated in the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines...

. He had set up a small hideout at a chicken and rabbit farm. The arrest was made just after 7:00 am at the farm after Russo returned from hunting. His brother Pasquale was arrested a day later, on November 1, 2009, in Sperone

Sperone

Sperone is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, in the Campania region of southern Italy....

 (Avellino

Avellino

Avellino is a town and comune, capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains 42 km north-east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento.-History:Before the Roman conquest, the...

) together with their younger brother Carmine Russo, a fugitive since 2007 and on the list of 100 most wanted fugitives. With the arrest of the top leadership the clan has been dealt another severe blow. He is now serving a life sentence.