Two weeks ago, the Italian Carabinieri launched an operation against the Contini clan, a powerful group within the Camorra mafia in Campania.
But while police raids against mafia organizations are common in Italy, the operation on June 12 was unusual: a hospital was at the center of the investigation.
It has long been known that the Contini clan controls the San Giovanni Bosco hospital in Naples, but only now are the full details beginning to emerge.
Investigators found that the mafia created what one magistrate called an “anti-state” by using the hospital as a hub to raise money and facilitate gang killings.
Gangsters held rallies in key hospital wards, used ambulances to distribute medicine, quickly tracked down patients (for a price), and ran accident insurance scams.
Investigators also discovered that gangsters were raiding San Giovanni Bosco’s medical supplies to create “murder kits” that mafia hitmen could use to carry out jobs.
It has long been known that the Contini clan controls the San Giovanni Bosco hospital in Naples (pictured), but only now are the full details beginning to emerge
Eleven people were arrested in the police operation earlier this month, eight of whom were sent to prison and three were placed under house arrest.
The crackdown was accompanied by a 481-page warrant detailing how the Contini clan took over the 156-bed hospital and became a health care provider for its own financial gain.
One clan defector, Teodoro de Rosa, told investigators that “ninety percent of the hospital was corrupt.” according to De Tijd.
The clan’s ability to take control of the hospital was, according to The Times, inadvertently caused by the Italian government passing a law to help ex-convicts get healthcare jobs.
This resulted in gangsters just out of prison flooding some departments.
One of those gangsters was Paolo di Mauro, a leader within the Contini clan, one of the most powerful groups within the Naples-based Camorra mafia.
His influence on the hospital earned him the nickname ‘The Nurse’.
Francesco Emilio Borrelli, a local MP, told The Times: ‘He never actually showed up for work, but was paid a salary and nicknamed ‘the nurse’. When he passed away (in 2018) there were posters in the hospital to mourn him.”
Paolo di Mauro, a leader within the Contini clan – one of the most powerful groups within the Naples-based Camorra mafia – was nicknamed ‘The Nurse’
Borrelli has campaigned against the Camorra and was attacked in the hospital car park when he tried to protest against gangsters selling parking tickets.
But control of the hospital parking lot was just one of many aspects of the Contini’s masterful strategy to capture San Giovanni Bosco, believed to be led by 45-year-old Gennaro Manetta, better known as Genny Maradona.
The Times reports that the clan trusted him to carry out the plan, despite the fact that – on paper – he was only a cleaner in the hospital’s radiology department.
Under his leadership, gangsters took over the daily management of the hospital café, the pizzeria and the cleaning service.
Doctors were intimidated and silenced, while the mafioso stocked medical stores and held meetings in wards. The clan leaders moved the location of these meetings around the hospital for fear of police insects, which meant that mafia business was done in the intensive care and gynecology wards.
Bosses are also believed to have created ‘murder kits’ for their hitmen, which included doctor’s robes, surgical gloves and medical gel.
The gel was applied to the hair and eyebrows of assassins to prevent their hair falling out at crime scenes, which could otherwise lead to their DNA being discovered.
Like another money spinner, the crowd allowed patients who had to wait long for treatment to pay in cash and queue up.
The Contini also allowed only mafia-affiliated funeral directors to retrieve bodies from the hospital morgue.
Mob lawyers were found to have assisted the racket.
Insurance fraud was carried out on an industrial scale, extracting millions of euros from insurers. Police say victims’ unit staff were instructed to prepare reports of fake injuries, combined with old X-rays of broken bones.
These were sent to mafia lawyers who would arrange the paperwork.
Gennaro Manetta (photo), 45 years old, better known as Genny Maradona, is said to have led the daily control of the hospital by the mafia. The Times reports that the clan trusted him to carry out the plan, despite being – on paper – just a cleaner at the hospital
One hospital employee was hired to damage cars to provide evidence of the accidents that caused the ‘injuries’.
According to a researcher, this plan has increased car insurance prices in Naples.
Fake medical reports were also falsified to help gangsters get out of jail, investigative documents show.
The hospital was also used to transport medicines.
Shipments of cocaine were hidden in the facility’s ambulances to transport them around the city. These shipments were accompanied by a fake patient, with the drivers even using the emergency siren to get through traffic.
Furthermore, after the Contini clan decided that no drug dealing should take place in Amicizia (the house consisting of several social housing units next to the hospital), dealers were transferred to the hospital and addicts were sent to the roof for their fix.
Despite the hospital being used as a base for the criminal enterprise, the facility was still able to function as a medical center and standards were maintained.
However, scandals did hit the hospital. Infestations of mice were discovered in the buildings, while some patients were found covered in ants.
Others were left in hallways and on the floor due to a shortage of beds.
The extent of the clan’s control has astounded officials.
Judge Federica Colucci in Naples said that the Contini clan “has in fact taken over entire commercial and entrepreneurial sectors, as well as some absolutely crucial public structures such as some of Naples’ most important hospitals, which are not only used to organize criminal summits or to protect victims of crime’. usury or extortion relations, but also as an additional instrument to control their mafia power.’
However, knowledge of the clan’s control of the hospital is not new.
In 2019, 126 arrests were made in an attempt to crack down on the company.
However, Manetta remained at large and continued his activities at the facility, where he could regularly be found near the entrance making deals.
The latest police operation stems from an Oct. 13, 2022, phone tap, when investigators caught a gangster contacting another suspect to have a friend hospitalized.
Edoardo Contini, also known as Edoardo ‘o Romano, is the founder of the Contini clan and is also one of the leading figures in the Secondigliano Alliance. He was arrested in 2007
Furthermore, Manetta is said to have pushed his luck too far this year when an ambulance was used to transport famous TikTokers and singers to the opening of a friend’s store in Naples – all with the siren on.
He was one of the targets in the latest roundup, according to The Times, and was arrested as he stepped off a plane from Los Angeles.
The British newspaper reported that the hospital appears to have returned to relative normality since the recent arrests.
However, Borrelli told the publication: ‘We shouldn’t let our guard down because if you don’t remove a tumor in its entirety, it will grow again.’