Roberto Saviano

PamelaCortes: Just getting started with Roberto Saviano's "Gomorra"... a best-seller about the mafia in Napoli (based on real facts). Read Full Story

In my "B" review of Gomorrah last December I opened saying "its dedication to [Roberto Saviano's non-fiction story] causes the film to lack focus as it spreads itself too thin by telling five separate stories." After seeing it a second time I still stand by this statement, but not as adamantly as I did before. A repeat viewing benefits this film greatly and Criterion's Blu-ray presentation is slick and engrossing, even if the supplemental material can go on a little too long. As a film we are witness to the world of guns, drugs, illegal toxic waste disposal and even haute couture, all involving ... Read Full Story

At this point, many of you have probably seen this video of a murder committed by a member of the Camorra against Mariano Bacioterracino: What I found shocking in this video (in addition to the murder itself but that is par for course for organized crime) was how casual the whole thing is including the murder itself. The voice-over you hear on the video is that of Roberto Saviano , journalist and author of Gomorrah , a devastating book on the Camorra which earned him death threats from the organized group last year. The movie based on the book will soon be out on ... Read Full Story

[Naples] Italian police have arrested Pasquale Russo, one of the country’s most wanted Camorra bosses, a day after detaining Salvatore Russo, his brother. The arrest delivers a heavy blow to one of the most powerful crime syndicates in the region surrounding Naples. Russo, 62, had been on the run from authorities since 1993. Much like one of the characters in Roberto Saviano’s Gomorrah, Russo was arrested at dawn yesterday, while hiding out in a remote farmhouse near Sperone, some 80 kilometres north of Naples. Pasquale Russo has been on the top ten list of the most wanted list for more than 16 years, with ... Read Full Story

Raffaele Amato, involved in a murderous turf war within the Camorra crime syndicate, was picked up Saturday in Marbella in a joint Italy-Spain operation, Naples prosecutor Giovandomenico Lepore said in a statement.Amato is accused of several homicides in connection with a feud dating back to 1991 between two Camorra clans that left more than a dozen people dead, he said.He was a top killer for boss Paolo Di Lauro, who was trying to keep control of the clan from rival Antonio Ruocco, Lepore said.In 2006, Di Lauro was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison on charges of Mafia association, extortion and drug ... Read Full Story