I was told by Ginevra all involved in the Neapolitan narcotics trade had nicknames as a matter of pride and to assist in obfuscating identification by law enforcement and tax authorities. You remember that notorious American gangster Al Capone who visited the “big house” not for murder but tax evasion! The names were colourful and of course as I told you earlier Don Lupara was referred to as the Fat Fox. Other names were “Cyclops”, “Hot Blood”, “Hairy Balls”, “Thumb Sucker”, “Big Nose”, “Bloodhound” and the “Slippery One”.
Don Lupara and Cyclops were not getting along. Don Lupara’s territory were the slums of Scampia and bordering Scampia was Piscinola-Marianella. One street on the border of these districts Via Greco was according to Cyclops being hijacked by Don Lupara. Warning shots had been exchanged between Cyclops’ and Don Lupara’s men.
After our little “tour” Don Lupara took me to Scampia’s finest restaurant Satriole’s. A hole in the wall with the best pasta in Campania according to Don Lupara. We had a steaming bowl of pasta sitting in the front of the restaurant. It’s plate glass windows gave us a view of all sorts of “Crime in Action”. After being grilled by Don Lupara about how many grandchildren Ginerva and I would give him we sat up and were ready to leave when I was tackled by one of Don Lupara’s men and Don Lupara by another. A huge burst of machine gun fire shattered the plate glass window followed by an explosion. Bloody bodies and body parts were strewn all over the restaurant. Don Lupara was unscathed and I had a piece of glass graze the back of my head and was bleeding. And that man who had been tailing Ginevra and I in New York and had tackled me lay on the ground with bits of his brain oozing from a crater in what was left of his head. Don Lupara was as cool as a cucumber declaring that a war was now on with Cyclops.
Badly shaken we headed home but one piece of business had to be taken care of. Guido and Lino were two 14-year-old Scampian teenagers who had staged a violent robbery of a bordello run by Don Lupara. Of course, Don Lupara’s men had apprehended the boys within the hour. Don Lupara was struck by their gall and hired them as low-level drug runners. Well at a disco Guido and Lino had made acquaintances with two young ladies and they ran out of cocaine so they ripped off a drug dealer outside of Scampia. This was a fatal mistake. We walked into a room where the boys were tied up full of apologies and contrition. Territory had to be respected as a matter of honour. Don Lupara walked up to them and shot poor Guido and Lino in the head. And I was just thinking Don Lupara might be a decent fellow.
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 