Alleged creator of ‘ecomafia’, Chianese, arrested
(ANSA) – Naples, December 10 – The alleged creator of the “ecomafia” wing of the notorious Casalesi clan of the Neapolitan Camorra mafia was arrested Tuesday.
Police say that Cipriano Chianese, 62, presented himself as a businessman and lawyer but the so-called “garbage king” actually created the ecomafia and for decades operated the illegal trafficking of waste exposed in the bestselling book Gomorrah.
The author of that book, Roberto Saviano, also exposed the criminal empire of the Casalesi and as a result has been under police protection because of death threats ever since.
The book Gomorrah was later turned into an award-winning film of the same name.
Chianese is also alleged to have extorted quotas for waste management and operated a transport company, the Mary Trans, that moved waste for municipal governments and businesses.
Chianese was already under house arrest, but Tuesday was taken to jail. Chianese’s brother Francesco, and a colleague Carlo Verde, 37, were also arrested.
Cipriano Chianese was previously arrested for environmental disasters and poisoning water supplies with his handling of hazardous waste.
Authorities have said that he is believed to be a leading player in the largest Camorra operation in the waste sector and the ecomafia system in Campania.