Courts, Criminals and the CamorraTrain, Arthur Cheney
History
Courts, Criminals and the Camorra
Train, Arthur Cheney
Camorra; Criminals -- United States; Justice, Administration of -- United States
For the reasons previously stated it is not surprising that the
disclosures of 1900 had little or no permanent effect upon the
criminal activities of the Camorra. The Ring and the politicians had,
it is true, received a severe shock, but the minor criminals had not
been affected and their hold on the population remained as strong as
ever. Soon the Camorrists became as active at the elections, and the
authorities as complacent, as before, and after a spasmodic pretence
at virtue the “Public Safety” relapsed into its old relations to the
organization.[13]
The leaders of the new “Beautifully Reformed Society” were reported to
be Giovanni Rapi, a suave and well-educated gambler, the Cashier of
the organization and its chief adviser, surnamed “The Professor” for
having once taught modern languages in the public schools, at one and
the same time a member of both the high and the low Camorra, and an
international blackleg; Enrico Alfano, popularly known as “Erricone,”
the reorganizer of the society and its “Supreme Head,” the boss of
all the gangs, a fearless manipulator of elections, a Camorrist of the
new order—of the revolver instead of the knife, the confidant of his
godfather, Don Ciro Vittozzi,—the third of the criminal triumvirate,
the most mediæval of all these mediæval figures, and the Machiavelli of
Naples.
Known as the “Guardian Angel” or “Confessor” of the Camorra, this
priest was chaplain of the Naples Cemetery, and as such was accused
of unsavory dealings of a ghoulish nature,[14] but he exerted wide
power and influence, had the ear of the nobility and the entrée to
their palaces, and even claims to have been the confessor of the
late King. Once, a cabby, not recognizing Vittozzi, overcharged him.
The ecclesiastic protested, but the man was insistent. At length the
priest paid the fare, saying, “Remember that you have cheated Don
Ciro Vittozzi.” That night the cabman was set upon and beaten almost
beyond recognition. Next day he came crawling to the priest and craved
permission to drive him for nothing. Many such stories are told of
Vittozzi.
Besides these leaders, there were a score of lesser lights—de Marinis,
the “swell” of the Camorra, a mixer in the “smart set,” fond of horses
and of diamonds, a go-between for the politicians; Luigi Arena, the
scientific head of the corps of burglars; Luigi Fucci, the “dummy” head
of the Camorra; and Gennaro Cuocolo, a shrewd “basista” and planner of
burglarious campaigns, a little boss, grown arrogant from felonious
success. The cast, indeed, is too long for recapitulation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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