Francesco Bidognetti
Encyclopedia
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:...
. He is the chief lieutenant of Francesco Schiavone
Francesco Schiavone
Francesco Schiavone is a member of the Camorra, the Neapolitan organized crime syndicate, and the head of the Casalesi clan from Casal di Principe in the province of Caserta between Naples and Salerno...
, boss of the Casalesi clan
Casalesi clan
The Casalesi clan is a clan within the Camorra, an Italian criminal organization, operating from Casal di Principe in the province of Caserta between Naples and Salerno.Formed by Antonio Bardellino, it is a confederation of clans in the Caserta area...
from Casal di Principe
Casal di Principe
Casal di Principe is a comune in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about 25 km northwest of Naples and about 20 km southwest of Caserta....
in the province of Caserta
Province of Caserta
The Province of Caserta is a province in the Campania region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Caserta. The former royal palace of Caserta is located near to the city.It has an area of 2,639 km², and a total population of 879,342...
between 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...
and Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
, and head of the Bidognetti clan, one of the five clans which make up the Casalesi. He is known as "'Cicciott' 'e Mezzanotte'" (Neapolitan for Midnight Fatty).
Waste disposal king
The Bidognetti and Tavoletta clans are very strong in the northern towns of Caserta province. They operate several illegal dumps between Naples and Caserta. Tonnes of dangerous waste from northern and central Italy are planted in the dumps, as well as toxic wastes from factories, hospitals and cemeteries. As such, Bidognetti is considered by Italian law enforcement to be the boss of the waste disposal arm of the clan.Bidognetti's lover, Angela Barra ruled the territory of Teverola
Teverola
Teverola is a comune in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about 20 km north of Naples and about 12 km southwest of Caserta....
and was the main conduit of all the political and economic alliances of the Casalesi Clan. In 1990, Bidognetti ordered the death of a medical doctor, Gennaro Falco, for having not taken proper care of his wife by failing to diagnose her with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in time.
His nephew Gaetano Cerci is believed to be the key link between the clan and Licio Gelli
Licio Gelli
Licio Gelli is an Italian financier, chiefly known for his role in the Banco Ambrosiano scandal. He was revealed in 1981 as being the Venerable Master of the clandestine Masonic lodge Propaganda Due...
, head of the defunct P2 masonic lodge
Propaganda Due
Propaganda Due , or P2, was a Masonic lodge operating under the jurisdiction of the Grand Orient of Italy from 1945 to 1976 , and a pseudo-Masonic or "black" or "covert" lodge operating illegally from 1976 to...
. Many tapped telephone conversations by the Roman police proved that Cerci stayed several times at Gelli's house in Villa Wanda, near Arezzo. In 1993, Villa Wanda was searched, on orders of the Naples public prosecutor, but police failed to find the computer discs that they were looking for.
Wife turns informant
Anna Carrino, Bidognetti's wife was arrested in November 2007 and charged with passing messages from her imprisoned husband to his subordinates on the outside. She subsequently became a 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...
and began giving away information that resulted in a number of major raids aimed at suspected members of the Camorra. She also provided information that led to the arrest of 52 Casalesi clan members on April 2008. Among those arrested was Bidognetti's son, Raffaele. Anna is currently being held in a top-security jail after the Casalesi put a million-pound contract on her. The two scion of Francesco Bidognetti, Aniello and Raffaele, hit recently by an order of the harsh 416-bis prion regime.
LIfe Imprisonment
In October 2003, Bidognetti and his son Aniello were indicted for the murder of doctor Gennaro Falco in the town of PareteParete
Parete is a comune in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about 15 km northwest of Naples and about 20 km southwest of Caserta...
. Two weeks later, Casalesi clan members Sebastiano Caterino and Umberto De Falco were murdered. Finally in June 2008, Bidognetti, Schiavone and 14 other Casalesi bosses were sentenced to life imprisonment in the Spartacus maxi-trial
Spartacus Trial
The Spartacus Maxi-Trial was a series of criminal trials that were specifically directed against the activities of the powerful Casalesi clan of the Camorra. The trial was opened at the Corte d'Assise of Santa Maria Capua Vetere in Caserta...
. Michele Zagaria
Michele Zagaria
Michele Zagaria , is a powerful Italian Camorrista and one of the bosses of the Casalesi clan from Casal di Principe in the province of Caserta northwest of Naples. He is on the "most wanted list" of the Italian ministry of the Interior since 1995, for Camorra association, murder, extortion,...
and Antonio Iovine
Antonio Iovine
Antonio Iovine is a powerful Italian Camorrista and one of the bosses of the Casalesi clan from Casal di Principe in the province of Caserta between Naples and Lazio...
, two other Casalesi bosses, got the same sentence but are currently on the run and included in the list of most wanted fugitives in Italy.
The 10-year legal trial, named as such in recognition of the need to fight a revolution in the Casalesi's territory, charged 36 members of the clan with a string of murders and other crimes. All were found guilty and 16 sentenced to life imprisonment. More than 500 witnesses testified in the trial which saw the heaviest penalties ever for organised crime with a total of 700 years of imprisonment. Over the course of the initial trial and the appeal, five people involved in the case were murdered, including an interpreter. A judge and two journalists were threatened with death.
In March 2008, through his lawyers in the courtroom, Francesco Bidognetti accused the prosecutor of the Dda, Antonio Cantone of being unduly influenced by the pentiti and the anti-Mafia journalists, Rosaria Capacchione, of the newspaper "Il Mattino ", and Roberto Saviano
Roberto Saviano
Roberto Saviano is an Italian writer and journalist.In his writings, articles, television programs, and books he employs prose and news-reporting style to narrate the story of the Camorra , exposing its territory and business connections.Since 2006, following the publication of his bestselling...
, author of the best-selling book Gommora, which deals with the criminal activities of the Casalesi clan. His lawyer further demanded the transfer of the trials of Bidognetti and fellow fugitive Casalesi boss, Antonio Iovine
Antonio Iovine
Antonio Iovine is a powerful Italian Camorrista and one of the bosses of the Casalesi clan from Casal di Principe in the province of Caserta between Naples and Lazio...
to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
for "legitimate suspiscions".
Backlash against collaborating relatives
On May 2, 2008, Bidognetti's uncle, Umberto was murdered at Castel VolturnoCastel Volturno
Castel Volturno is a comune in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about 35 km northwest of Naples and about 35 km west of Caserta on the Volturno river.-History:...
, due to his son Domenico's
Domenico Bidognetti
Domenico Bidognetti is a former member of the Casalesi clan from Casal di Principe in the province of Caserta between Naples and Salerno. He is a cousin of Casalesi boss, Francesco Bidognetti. He became a pentito and collaborated with Italian Justice in early 2008. His nickname is...
collaboration with the police. He had refused police protection after his son's repentance. In the following month, a group of hitmen disguised as police officers wounded Anna Carrino, the niece of Anna Carrino, in Villaricca
Villaricca
Villaricca is a comune in the Province of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 10 km northwest of Naples...
. She was shot in the stomach when she opened the door. Carrino's testimony led to the arrest of several of his henchmen. However, police believe that the real target of the attack may have been the woman’s mother, Anna Carrino’s sister. These incidents are believed to be part of the murder strategy of Iovine and Zagaria, in order to dissuade those who wish to collaborate with law enforcement.
Bidognetti's son, Gianluca, was arrested on November 21, 2008 and charged with the attempted murder of Anna Carrino's niece.