Bosses killed or in prison, in Brancaccio the "hegemonic faction" steps aside
Who rules in the Graviano brothers' fiefdom? THE INVESTIGATION by Riccardo Lo Verso 4 min read November 23, 2024, 06:00 PALERMO – Two factions have fought over mafia power in Brancaccio in recent years. Arrests and releases have influenced the balance. Last February, lead was added, killing Giancarlo Romano , one of the most authoritative bosses of the hegemonic group.
Savoca, “the last boss” A few days ago Squadra Mobile and Sisco arrested Gaetano Savoca, considered by the District Anti-Mafia Directorate to be the last boss of Brancaccio-Ciaculli. Who is his successor? In a raid last March, Giuseppe Arduino, also an old acquaintance of the investigators, ended up in prison.
A year ago Arduino claimed his mafia weight by talking to Pietro Asaro , a figure from Corso dei Mille with a mafia conviction behind him. Asaro was part of the faction of the boss Nino Sacco opposed to that of Antonio Lo Nigro.
For a while Sacco ruled the roost, but his arrest in 2011 changed that. Asaro was especially sorry about the treatment he was supposedly given while in prison. Things didn't get any better once he'd finished serving his sentence. Basically, he said, they'd cast him aside.
Lo Nigro's faction Lo Nigro's point man was Giancarlo Romano . The solid bond between the two had already emerged in 2018. Romano was driving the car with which Lo Nigro, after having finished serving a sentence in Holland, was returning with false documents. They were stopped along the Autostrada del Sole not far from Frosinone.
He had been on the run for a year because he had violated the personal prevention measure. In the past he had already been the protagonist of a daring escape. Lo Nigro had hidden in Calabria. They found him in Siderno, in the province of Reggio Calabria, but in 2008 he managed to escape while sunbathing at a beach. A year later, in March 2009, the carabinieri arrested him in an elegant apartment in the center of Bagheria.
In 2011 he was sentenced to thirteen years and four months, but in 2013 the sentence was overturned and he was acquitted. In 2022 he was arrested again. The informers Francesco Colletti of Villabate and Filippo Bisconti of Belmonte described his role in drug trafficking. No one like him would have been able to bring kilos and kilos of cocaine to Palermo.
His grandmother is Agata Tagliavia, sister of Pietro Tagliavia, historical boss of the Corso dei Mille family that is part of the Brancaccio district. His cousin Cosimo Lo Nigro, a lifer, was charged with procuring the explosives for the Capaci massacre and was part of the commando that killed Don Pino Puglisi.
Antonio Lo Nigro was the trusted man of Andrea Adamo, regent of Brancaccio, arrested together with Salvatore and Sandro Lo Piccolo, in the Giardinello hideout. It all makes sense since Adamo is the brother-in-law of Gaetano Savoca.
Nino Sacco is free Of the ruling faction headed by Lo Nigro, all are in prison. Nino Sacco, on the other hand, was released after serving 13 and a half years in prison. As was Giuseppe Faraone, who had been his co-defendant together with Arduino and Cesare Lupo (who is serving a 20-year sentence). They were the ones in charge in Brancaccio, the fiefdom of the Graviano brothers.
The massacre bosses chose their successor after ending up in prison in the early 1990s. It was Giuseppe Guttadauro, u dutturi, who through his son Mario Carlo remained in contact with Savoca until the day of his new arrest in 2022. Guattaduro was sentenced to five years. He will soon be free again.
The other released prisoners Brancaccio is a district where a high number of released prisoners are concentrated. Among them are the defendants convicted in a trial cancelled due to a procedural issue. The terms of the phase have expired and Giovanni Lucchese, known as Johnny, Claudio D'Amore, and Giuseppe Caserta are attending the appeal hearing at liberty .
In the same district , Giuseppe Gambino, Giovanni Asciutto, Cosimo Fabio Lo Nigro have finished serving their sentences . Giuseppe Giuliano, nicknamed “Folonari”, is also free.
“He was told some time ago, when the doctor came down to worry about his area…”, said Giuseppe Greco, who for a period took over the regency from his cousin Leandro Greco, known as Michele, as a sign of respect towards his grandfather, the 'pope' of Cosa Nostra.
Sentenced, but free Someone was trying, in January 2020, to claim more power. That someone would have been “Folonari” who a few days ago was sentenced to 13 years and 4 months on appeal after being acquitted in the first instance.
Power comes from the money that is accumulated through drugs and the control of gambling. Sometimes it comes from the past and maybe it has remained hidden who knows where without anyone claiming it. Then one day it happens that someone comes back to collect it as it happened with Savoca against the builder Giovanni Ienna.
