Michael Day in Rome | The Independent
Even by the mafia's brutal standards, the killing of a man smoking a cigarette outside a central Naples bar in broad daylight was shocking in its ruthlessness.
But perhaps more disturbing is the reaction of witnesses, who can be seen in a video that has been released by Naples prosecutors in an unprecedented step to try and to find the killer. As the Camorra hitman dispatches his victim with clinical efficiency, a bystander casually checks her lottery scratch card and walks away. Others peer at the body and continue about their business as if the shooting was a normal part of daily life.
The CCTV footage - and the aftermath of the crime - give a troubling insight into the extent of the Naples mafia's control of their territory. Although the hit took place on 11 May this year, and the face of the killer is clearly visible on the recording, with witnesses present, investigators have so far met with silence.
Journalist Roberto Saviano, who has a permanent armed escort since exposing the activities of the Naples mafia in his best selling book Gomorrah, called the killing a "classic Camorra hit, very well planned and executed without fanfare". He added that the video "shows what little value these people have for human life," in a recorded commentary posted on la Repubblica's website. "The thing that strikes you," he said, "is the absolute serenity of the killer."
Read more at The Independent
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