Cosimo Di Lauro

Cosimo Di Lauro (born 8 December 1973)[1] is an Italian Camorrista and former acting boss of the Di Lauro clan from Naples. Due to his flamboyant nature and passion for designer clothes, he earned the nickname "The Designer Don". Di Lauro is known by some as "o' Chiatto" (fat boy), and to journalists as the "prince regent".[2]

Cosimo Di Lauro
Born (1973-12-08) 8 December 1973
Naples, Italy
NationalityItalian
Criminal statusImprisoned since 2005
Parent(s)Paolo Di Lauro
Luisa D'Avanzo
RelativesMarco Di Lauro (brother)
AllegianceDi Lauro clan / Camorra
Criminal chargeMurder; Mafia association
PenaltyLife in prison

Biography

Taking over from his father

As the eldest son of the Camorra boss, Paolo Di Lauro aka Ciruzzo 'o milionario ("Ciruzzo the millionaire"), Cosimo took over control of the family business after his father needed to hide from the police.[3][4]

Cosimo Di Lauro wanted to centralize the drug dealing operation that had been run as a franchise in which dealers paid the Di Lauros a fee for doing business and were allowed to buy the drugs from any available source.[5] He removed older gangsters and replaced them with young toughs new to the business. In revolt, a faction known as the "secessionists" (Italian: Scissionisti) challenged the Di Lauros in October 2004.[5]

Scampia feud

One of the local dealers, Raffaele Amato, disputed the new rules, fled to Spain and organized a revolt against his former bosses. In Scampia, they are known as the Spaniards. Di Lauro responded by ordering the killing of two rebel associates, Fulvio Montanino and Claudio Salerno on 28 October 2004. During their funeral three days later, police arrested two men armed with machine guns[6] who were planning to spray the funeral procession.[5][7]

The resulting gang war, known as the Scampia feud, resulted in over 60 murders in 2004 and 2005. The two bands fought each other with a brutality that stunned even hardened Carabinieri. The feud caused widespread public revulsion against the Camorra and led to a major crackdown by the authorities, resulting in the capture and imprisonment of high-ranking Camorra figures, including his father.[8]

Arrest

Cosimo Di Lauro was eventually arrested on 21 January 2005, in the crime infested neighbourhood of Scampia.[9] In February, 2008, he was handed down a 15-year prison sentence for associazione camorristica.[10] On 13 December 2008, he was again sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering the murder of Gelsomina Verde, the former girlfriend of a rival Scissionisti gangster, Gennaro Notturno on 21 November 2004.[11][12]

Gelsomina was abducted, tortured and subsequently murdered by Di Lauro clan members, in an effort to make her disclose Notturno's whereabouts. The killers then set her body on fire inside her car, in order to protect them from the "evil eye".[13][14]

References
  1. (in Italian) E ora è caccia a Marco e Nunzio Archived 2009-08-09 at the Wayback Machine, Il Roma, 28 March 2007,
  2. 'Designer don' wins hearts of teenagers, The Daily Telegraph, 1 February 2005
  3. Gang's Deadly Feud Plagues Naples Archived 4 January 2013 at Archive.today, Los Angeles Times, 17 February 2005
  4. (in Italian) E ora è caccia a Marco e Nunzio Archived 2009-08-09 at the Wayback Machine, Il Roma, 28 March 2007
  5. Williams, Daniel (8 February 2005). "In Naples, a Mob Family Feud". The Washington Post. p. A16. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  6. (in Italian) Fermata la strage Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, 1 November 2004, InterNapoli.it
  7. Weekends turn bloody in Naples mafia war, The Guardian, 18 December 2004
  8. Italian Police Arrest Fugitive Crime Leader in Naples Gang War, The New York Times, 17 September 2005
  9. (in Italian) Arrestato Cosimo Di Lauro, figlio ed erede del boss Paolo, La Repubblica, 21 January 2005
  10. (in Italian) Condannati i Di Lauro Jr., La Repubblica (Napoli), 16 February 2008 (Napolionline)
  11. (in Italian) Cosimo Di Lauro, ergastolo per Gelsomina, Corriere del Mezzogiorno, 13 December 2008
  12. (in Italian) Di Lauro, ergastolo per il delitto di Gelsomina Verde che Saviano aveva raccontato in Gomorra Archived 19 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine, La Repubblica Napoli, 13 December 2008
  13. 'The blood is running': Mafia wars erupt again, The Independent, 8 December 2004
  14. (in Italian) Roberto Saviano sul delitto di Gelsomina Verde robertosaviano.it
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