Antonio Di Martino, alleged boss of a Camorra Mafia clan in southern Italy had a good run, figuratively, and literally. Having escaped from police several times, he apparently slept in his clothes with shoes on his feet, ready to run. The Mob Reporter here with news of the capture of an Italian mobster this week, who was something of an escape artist. If not a Teflon don, then certainly a breakout boss. Let me tell you about it.
The 40-year-old Antonio Di Martino is alleged to be the regent of his family’s ambitious mob clan, appointed to run its affairs while his father, Leonardo, is incarcerated. The Di Martino’s home turf is in and around Gragnano, just south of Pompeii, the ancient city buried by volcanic ash in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. A more important marker for mobsters, however, is its close proximity to Naples, home to the Camorra, one of the major Mafia organizations of Italy, alongside the Cosa Nostra, the ‘Ndrangheta and others.
The hill town is on the Monti Lattari, a mountain range filled with dense woods and steeps hills. In 2018, police raided his home there but he was nowhere to be found. The Di Martino compound was a complex of buildings, occupied by different family members, none of whom were interested in pointing out which way he went. The answer, apparently, would have been downward. As in, a tunnel. Police say the compound featured a warren of underground passages that lead outside to the road, with outbuildings that provide visual cover into the mountains.
An elaborate police operation was planned this time, to avoid the problems of the past. About 100 officers in three groups moved in when he returned to the family home for the Christmas holiday, on Dec. 28, 2020.
Antonio almost got away again. Alerted by dogs of the approach of police to the gates of the compound, he sprang into a tunnel and made it out of the complex and into the mountainous woods within seconds. Antonio and two relatives then ran through the heavy woods.
But technology evolved since his last dash. This time, three airborne drones were waiting, one equipped with thermal cameras. Antonio managed to stay on the run for two hours before officers — guided from above — closed off their escape and surrounded them, investigators said.
The Di Martino clan has had an ambitious rise in underworld affairs, authorities allege, forging alliances and suppressing rivals to climb to the top in their area. Antonio was wanted on extortion and Mafia charges that came from a large probe in 2018 that caused a scandal over alleged corruption. Called Operation Olimpo, police arrested a well-known businessman who was accused of being a link between criminal groups along with bosses of four Camorra clans.
Avoiding arrest in 2018 followed previous successful escapes. His capture proves, yet again, that Mafia bosses rarely run far away. They like to stay close to family — those they trust the most — and where they feel safe.
Italy - MR.
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