Lucrezia Ciotti After 17 years, a breakthrough has arrived in the investigation into the murder of Mariano Bacioterracino , killed by gunfire in the Sanità district of Naples in 2009. Two men have been arrested on charges of having played a role in organizing the ambush: one is the alleged instigator, while the other is believed to have driven the scooter used to reach the crime scene.
The case has been reopened by new statements from collaborators of justice and further investigations by the District Anti-Mafia Directorate.
Bacioterracino Murder: The Crime Caught on Camera and Its Possible Connection to the Mafia
The murder of Bacioterracino dates back to May 11, 2009 , when the victim was hit by several gunshots at the entrance of the Antica Caffetteria, in via Vergini, in the Sanità district.
The attack occurred in broad daylight and was captured by the venue's surveillance cameras . Despite the clarity of the images, identifying the perpetrator proved complex. Costanzo Apice , identified by several collaborators of justice as the alleged perpetrator, was acquitted . During the proceedings, the Court of Cassation ruled out a sufficiently strong anthropometric match between the person filmed in the video and Apice, a factor that prevented the attribution of the crime to him.
The possible Camorra connection to the attack also remains a factor : according to the investigation, the murder may have been part of a settling of scores between clans, with a connection to an incident dating back to the 1970s. Bacioterracino had been accused of participating in the murder of Gennaro Moccia , the longtime boss of Afragola, but was acquitted. Investigators intend to determine whether this precedent may have played a role in the decision to assassinate him in 2009.
Two arrests in the Bacioterracino murder after 17 years: alleged roles of instigator and accomplice reconstructed
Seventeen years after the killing of Mariano Bacioterracino in the Sanità district of Naples , the investigation has taken a new turn. As reported by Tgcom24 , the Carabinieri have arrested Ciro Culiersi , 39, and Oscar Pecorelli , 47, pursuant to a precautionary custody order issued by the investigating judge of the Court of Naples at the request of the District Anti-Mafia Directorate . The two are accused, according to their respective positions, of having participated in organizing the ambush with different roles: Culiersi is said to have driven the scooter used to reach the crime scene and to enable the perpetrator to arrive there, while Pecorelli is said to have been the alleged mastermind and organizer of the murder . The latter is reportedly already being held under the 41 bis regime. Culiersi, however, was released on October 16, after completing a previous sentence in San Gimignano prison, just eleven days before his new arrest.
The investigative activity, coordinated by the Naples DDA and led by Public Prosecutor Maria Sepe, has allowed for a deeper understanding of the responsibilities linked to the preparation of the criminal action, thanks also to the statements of several collaborators of justice . The investigations have also revealed the possible involvement of a third person , who has since died , in addition to that of other individuals yet to be identified.