| Founded | 1960s |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Ciro Mazzarella, Gennaro Mazzarella and Vincenzo Mazzarella |
| Founding location | San Giovanni a Teduccio,Naples,Italy |
| Years active | 1960s-present |
| Territory | Several districts ofNaples (San Lorenzo) inCampania. Presence also inSpain,France andPeru. |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking,money laundering,racket,smuggling,murder,prostitution,gambling |
| Allies | Russo clan Catania Mafia family Ndrangheta South Americandrug cartels |
| Rivals | Rinaldi clan De Luca Bossa clan Vollaro clan Aprea-Cuccaro clan |
TheMazzarella clan is a CampanianCamorra clan operating in the city ofNaples. The clan is historically considered one of the most powerful groups of the Camorra.[1]
The clan was founded in the 1960s by the Mazzarella brothers, Ciro known as 'o Scellone, Gennaro and Vincenzo, as a branch of the Zaza clan, then headed by the historical bossMichele Zaza, who was a relative of the Mazzarella brothers.[2] The organization started dedicating itself to thecigarette smuggling, establishing itself from theBorgo Santa Lucia toPosillipo, and fromBagnoli toPozzuoli. The Mazzarella clan grew rapidly and became independent from the Zazas, thanks toCiro Mazzarella, who since the 1960s demonstrated his entrepreneurial abilities, buying small ships and starting his own smuggling empire.[3]
In the 1970s, the organization was already dubbed by the media as the kings of cigarette smuggling, however, during the eighties and nineties the organization ended up involved in many Camorra wars, in particular against theContini clan, which led to the death of dozens of affiliates including the father of the Mazzarella brothers, Francesco, killed in an ambush in 1998, with an increase in February of the same year which led to ten deaths in nine days.[4]
In the late 1980s the Mazzarellas formed a strong alliance with the Misso and Sarno clans, called Misso-Mazzarella-Sarno, to oppose to the rising power of theSecondigliano Alliance, headed by theLicciardi,Mallardo andContini bosses.[5] However, in 2008, this alliance was broken after the fall of the Sarno clan, bringing the eastern suburbs of Naples to a new and bloody war.[6]
In 1996 Marianna, daughter ofLuigi Giuliano, boss of theGiuliano clan, married Michele Mazzarella, son of Vincenzo Mazzarella, the union served to strengthen the relations between the two most important clans of Camorra in the 1990s.[7]
The clan has a long history of rivalry with theRinaldi clan,[8] which caused dozens of deaths from the bloody wars between the two groups.[9]
According to revelations made by pentitos of the clan, despite the degree of kinship among the founders of the organization, the Mazzarellas are not united as it seems, actually, each brother has an area of their own influence inside the several territories dominated by the clan. The clan is virtually fragmented into three independent groups.[10]
Born inNaples on April 2, 1940,Ciro Mazzarella aka 'o Scellone, was considered the true heir of Michele Zaza, having strong relations with theSicilian Mafia, in particular with theCatania Mafia family. According to justice collaborators, the late boss of the Catania Mafia,Giuseppe Calderone was the godparent in the baptism of one of the Mazzarella's sons.[11]
'O Scellone had also good relationships with other powerful bosses of the Camorra, such asMario Fabbrocino and Alfredo Maisto. He was also seen in the company ofVincenzo Casillo of theNuova Camorra Organizzata, in fact, Mazzarella never took a side in the war between theNuova Famiglia and the NCO, despite the top position Michele Zaza held inside the NF.[11]
In the early 1990s Mazzarella had amassed great wealth,[12] in 1992 he decided to move toSwitzerland, after losing a war between Camorra clans in Naples. From his logistics base inLugano, he created an enviable economic Empire with cigarette smuggling that arrived fromMontenegro.[13] According to the parliamentary inquiry commission of 1996, Ciro Mazzarella headed a true illegal Empire: 200 billion lire in turnover, for a net profit of over 6 billion lire monthly (€4,4 million monthly, in today's exchange).[3] In 2002 he was arrested inSpain, and after his release from prison in 2006, he returned to live in Naples.[14]
On September 2, 2018, Ciro Mazzarella, died in his villa in the affluent neighbourhood ofPosillipo, Naples at the age of 78.[15]
Since the 20th century, the clan is known to be also active inFrance. In 2004 Vincenzo Mazzarella, one of the founders of the organization, was arrested inParis.[16] Mazzarella was reportedly dealing diamonds with African criminals in the country.[17]
In 2009, Ciro Mazzarella, born in 1971, was arrested inSanto Domingo,Dominican Republic. In the country, he lived in a luxurious residence and held the reins of the clan especially for the management of drug trafficking.[18]
According to the Spanish police, inSpain the clan is active inMarbella,Fuengirola,Zaragoza andCeuta.[19]
Operating fromBarcelona, Salvatore Zazo, one of the top members of the clan, was allegedly involved in a large scheme of international cocaine trafficking fromPeru toEurope, with the intention to acquire total control of the Port ofCallao; one of his contacts was thedrug lord Gerald Oropeza, one of the biggest traffickers in Peru.[20] According to theDEA, Zazo would manage more than U$500 million per year in shipments of cocaine through the ports of the country to Europe.[21]
According to theDirezione Investigativa Antimafia, the clan has alliances withAlbanian mafia groups.[22]
In recent years, the new leaders of theRusso clan, fromNola, also formed an alliance with the Mazzarellas.[23]
According to the reports of the DIA about the Camorra in 2019, the Mazzarella clan, despite the death of two of its founders,[24] is still one of the most powerful organizations inCampania, dominating the territory in various neighbourhoods, and having numerous groups under their influence.[25]
The current leader of the organization is Ciro Mazzarella, born in 1971, who controls the powerful organization from his stronghold in theMercato area, in Naples.[26]
In January 2025, the Mazzarella clan was once again thrust into the spotlight following a major anti-mafia investigation led by the Naples District Anti-Mafia Directorate (DDA). The inquiry, launched after a formal complaint filed in 2022 by two brothers, owners of a business and a freight company operating inside thePort of Naples, uncovered a scheme of systematic extortion carried out by affiliates of the clan. According to the victims, clan members demanded a monthly payment of €500 and an additional lump sum as "back pay" for previous years, using threats and physical violence to enforce compliance. The extortion was described as essential for the victims to continue operating their businesses in the port area. Three individuals were arrested in connection with the case, including Gennaro Mazzarella, nephew of historical boss Vincenzo Mazzarella, and Salvatore Barile,a previously convicted for Camorra-related crimes. Wiretaps revealed the clan’s continued influence over extortion rackets not only within the port of Naples but also in nearby towns such as San Giorgio a Cremano and Portici. One intercepted conversation featured Gustavo Alek Noviello, a 33-year-old associate of the clan, claiming the Mazzarella group could deploy up to 300 men if necessary, a testament to the organization's enduring power and reach despite years of law enforcement pressure.[27]
In May 2025, a major drug trafficking network linked to the Mazzarella clan was dismantled in a large-scale operation conducted by Italy’s Carabinieri. Acting on orders from the Naples District Anti-Mafia Directorate (DDA), investigators executed 21 arrest warrants, 19 suspects were jailed, and two placed under house arrest, for crimes including mafia association, drug trafficking, illegal weapons possession, extortion, and mafia-style intimidation. At the center of the operation is Michele Mazzarella, known as 'o fenomeno, who, despite being incarcerated inSyracuse, Sicily, allegedly continued to command the clan and oversee its sprawling narcotics operations. Investigators identified two satellite groups under his control, led respectively by Rosario De Bernardo (brother of Vincenzo "’o pisello", murdered in 2015) and Raffaele Anastasio, both operating in the Vesuvian towns ofSomma Vesuviana andSant'Anastasia. The De Bernardo group managed the logistics of large-scale drug trafficking, distributing cocaine, crack, marijuana, and hashish throughout key retail zones, particularly in the Parco Fiordaliso area of Somma Vesuviana. Meanwhile, the Anastasio group is accused of coordinating a series of extortion attempts against local entrepreneurs, including firms in the renewable energy, car rental, and funeral services sectors, allegedly to fund clan operations and support incarcerated affiliates. The investigation, which spanned all of 2024, relied heavily on wiretaps and covert surveillance. Authorities believe that a so-called "alliance of drug markets" was established under Mazzarella control, whereby all street-level dealers were either required to purchase drugs from the clan or pay a fee, referred to as a “peace tax”, to operate freely. Among those charged with leading and structuring the network are Salvatore Di Caprio, Salvatore Giannetti, and Fabio Annunziata, with operational responsibilities attributed to Clemente Correale, Carmela Miranda, and Rosario De Bernardo. All individuals arrested are currently awaiting preliminary hearings.[28]
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