Ciro Mazzarella (

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, 2 April 1940 – Naples, 2 September 2018) was a historical Italian Camorrista, known in the media as the "king of cigarette smuggling", founder of the

Mazzarella clan The Mazzarella clan is a Campanian Camorra clan operating in the city of Naples. The clan is historically considered one of the most powerful groups of the Camorra. History The clan was founded in the 1960s by the Mazzarella brothers, Ciro know ...

and was one of the last remaining leaders of a bygone era of the Camorra.

History

Born in a family of important Camorra members, Ciro Mazzarella aka 'o Scellone, was nephew of

Michele Zaza Michele Zaza (; Procida, April 10, 1945 – Rome, July 18, 1994) was a member of the Camorra criminal organisation who was also initiated in the Sicilian Mafia. He headed the Zaza clan (later Mazzarella clan) in Naples. Zaza was known as ''’O Pa ...

, and considered his successor in the business. At the beginning he worked for his uncle's powerful clan, known in that time as the Zaza clan, but soon started his own business, specifically in the 1960s, buying small ships and starting his own smuggling empire, since then, he quickly demonstrated his entrepreneurial abilities. During that decade, he founded the

, becoming independent from the Zaza clan, led by his uncle. 'O Scellone had also good relationships with other powerful bosses of the Camorra, such as Mario Fabbrocino and Alfredo Maisto. He was also seen in the company of Vincenzo Casillo of the

Nuova Camorra Organizzata The Nuova Camorra Organizzata (in English: New Organized Camorra) 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 N ...

, in fact, Mazzarella never took a side in the war between the

Nuova Famiglia The Nuova Famiglia (Italian: "New Family") was an Italian Camorra confederation created in the 1970s and headed by the most powerful Camorra bosses of the time, Carmine Alfieri, the Nuvoletta brothers, Michele Zaza, Luigi Giuliano and Antonio ...

and the NCO, despite the top position his uncle Michele Zaza held inside the NF. The clan he created, despite having become very powerful, has been involved in several wars over the decades, in particular the factions led by his brothers, Gennaro and Vincenzo. One of the most striking examples of wars in which his clan was involved, was with the

Contini clan The Contini clan is a powerful Neapolitan Camorra clan operating in the city of Naples, and more specifically in the area of the Naples Central Station. The clan's traditional powerbase is the Arenaccia district. It also operates in the Poggiore ...

, which led to the murder of his father, Francesco Mazzarella. Ciro Mazzarella was also known for having strong relations with the

Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a secret society, criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of ...

, in particular with the

Catania Mafia family The Catania Mafia family, currently also referred to as the Santapaola-Ercolano Mafia clan, is a crime family of the Cosa Nostra that dominates organized crime activities in the city of Catania and its province. The Catania Mafia quietly evolved ...

. According to justice collaborators, the late boss of the Catanian mafia,

Giuseppe Calderone Giuseppe “Pippo” Calderone (Catania, 1 November 1925 – Catania, 8 September 1978) was an influential Sicilian mafioso from Catania, eventually becoming the capo of the Catania Mafia family. He became the ‘secretary’ of the Interpro ...

was the godfather in the baptism of one of the Mazzarella's sons.

Mazzarella's criminal empire

In the early 1990s Mazzarella had already amassed a great wealth, and in 1992 he decided to move to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, after losing a war between Camorra clans in Naples. From his logistics base in

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

, he created an enviable economic empire with cigarette smuggling that arrived from

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. According to numerous investigations, during the early 1990s, Mazzarella would have several contacts in the top echelons of the Montenegro's government, and supposedly reached agreements with the Montenegrin politician

Milo Đukanović Milo Đukanović (, ; born 15 February 1962) is a Montenegrin politician who served as the President of Montenegro from 2018 to 2023, previously serving in the role from 1998 to 2002. He also served as the Prime Minister of Montenegro (1991–19 ...

. Mazzarella also conspired to gain control of Montenegrin government warehouses, which he would hold through a Panamanian company called Gisto, based in Lugano. 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). In 2002 Mazzarella was arrested in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and after his release from prison in 2006, he returned to live in Naples.

Later years

After his return to Naples, Mazzarella used to be much more reserved. Rarely in the news, in the early 2010s he decided to collaborate on an autobiography made by the author Fabrizio Capecelatro. The book was published in 2013. On 2 September 2018 Ciro Mazzarella died in his villa in the affluent neighbourhood of

Posillipo Posillipo (; ) is an affluent residential quarter of Naples, southern Italy, located along the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples. From the 1st century BC the Bay of Naples witnessed the rise of villas constructed by elite Romans along the mo ...

, Naples, at the age of 78.

History

Mazzarella's criminal empire

Later years

See also