An important member of the Camorra, Naples' organized crime syndicate, was arrested Oct. 1 near Milan.
Police say Ciro Di Carluccio, 54, handled business interests for the Contini clan, one of the few remaining Camorra clans that has not been weakened by informants.
A recent wave of informants has helped Italian investigators crack down on a number of syndicate activities, but operations for a few clans have not been disrupted, in Italy or abroad.
The Contini clan is one of those that had escaped infiltration.
They, together with the Mallardo and Licciardi families, formed the “Secondigliano alliance” that for years dominated the northern and central area of Naples as well as the Vomero and Posillipo hills.
Ciro Di Carluccio has been a fugitive since last year, when an arrest warrant was issued charging him with Mafia-type association, extortion and usury.
The arrest comes in the wake of a police operation last January, when 90 people connected to the clan were arrested and police seized € 250 million (US$ 315 million) in companies, goods and bank accounts.
Among the seized companies were a number of pizzerias of the 'Pizza Ciro' franchise that are, according to the prosecutors, named for Ciro Di Carluccio, whose family handledmany entrepreneurial activities of the Contini clan.
