Pasquale Scotti
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Pasquale Scotti | |
|---|---|
 Photofit of Pasquale Scotti on the basis of a mug-shot from the 1980s issued in October 2011 in relation to an international arrest warrant.[1] | |
| Born | 8 September 1958 |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
Pasquale Scotti (Italian pronunciation: [paˈskwaːle ˈskɔtti]; born 8 September 1958 in Casoria) is an Italian criminal and boss of the Camorra—a Mafia-type organisation in Naples and Campania—involved in the Nuova Camorra Organizzata (NCO), headed by Raffaele Cutolo.[2]
He was described as a smooth and ruthless personality and one of the most able of the lieutenants of Cutolo together with Vincenzo Casillo.[2][3] Scotti and Casillo—who had close ties to the secret services—mediated between Cutolo and the regional leaders of the Christian Democrat party (Italian: Democrazia Cristiana, DC), the military secret service and the Red Brigades to obtain the release of the politician Ciro Cirillo, who had been kidnapped in April 1981. Scotti also administered the assets of the NCO investing it in Italy and abroad.[4]
Casillo was killed by a bomb in his car in January 1983, presumably to cover the secret negotiations by DC politicians to free Cirillo contravening to official policy of the Italian government to not negotiate with so-called terrorists. Scotti was behind the killing of Casillo's mistress because she knew too much about the dealings of his erstwhile ally.[2]
Arrest and escape
After the transfer of Cutolo to the prison island Asinara and the wave of arrest against the NCO in June 1983, Scotti tried to rearrange the organisation.[2] He was arrested on 17 December 1983 in his fiefdom Caivano where he controlled the rackets and trafficking in drugs, smuggled cigarettes and arms. His arrest involved a shoot out with the police in which Scotti was injured. During detention, fearing a vendetta of rival Camorristi, he decided to become a pentito and collaborate with the authorities revealing different aspects of NCO. On Christmas Eve of 1984, he escaped from the hospital of Caserta where he had been hospitalized for a wound to the hand.[2]