Symbol for years of the mafia power of the Schiavone family, the large villa in via Bologna in Casal di Principe (Caserta) is today the emblem of the city's rebirth: in this building the social cooperatives - Forza del Silenzio and Lfs Global care - managed by Enzo Abate, a policeman, they take in autistic children and produce gluten-free products and official gadgets for Heads of State.
To find out more about ANSA Camorra Agency, Francesco Schiavone 'Sandokan' repented - News - Ansa.it Keeper of important secrets, he decided to collaborate with justice after 26 years in prison, most of which were spent under the 41 bis regime. Francesco Bidognetti and Michele Zagaria remain irreducible for now (ANSA)
A clean break with the past, for an asset that represented the fort in which criminal strategies and brutal murders were decided, and where Francesco "Sandokan" Schiavone was tracked down on 11 July 1998 in a specially built bunker. The large villa was entirely seized but a part, at number 12, was then returned to the Schiavone family because it was found to have been built by Sandokan's father with his savings and not with the proceeds of illicit activities like the rest of the property; thus the confiscated part was divided by a high wall from the part where Ivahnoe Schiavone, the only son of Sandokan remaining in Casal di Principe, still lives today.
"When in 2009 we came into possession of the property - says Enzo Abate - all the family members were present in the part returned to the Schiavone family, including Sandokan's wife, Giuseppina Nappa.
It took courage to enter the part of the villa intended for us but I must admit that Nappa told us that he had 'honour and pleasure' that we were in the confiscated property, that he respected what we wanted to do for autistic children and that he would not give us any problems. The word was kept. And instead the initial difficulty was we found, unexpectedly, with the institutions and with the citizens, because no one wanted to know about Villa Schiavone, no one wanted to talk about it; then over the years the mentality, especially of young people, has changed, and today we are a point of reference".
With the institutions, however, the problems continued, "paradoxically even today when the Camorra seems defeated and its best-known leader has repented". For years, Abate has been denouncing the intermittent payments of Local Health Authorities and Territorial Areas, from which he boasts credits totaling 600 thousand euros, the failure to pay which puts activities such as the multifunctional center of the Forza del Silenzio coop at great risk. Here 50 autistic children are looked after, who without this structure would not have a place to be assisted, stimulated and partly employed in goods production activities; the coop produces t-shirts for a well-known sporting goods chain, trophies, medals, and is the official sponsor chosen by the Prime Minister for the gadgets that are donated to Heads of State visiting Italy, from scarves made with San Leucio silk to personalized pens , to tie prototypes. The other coop Lfs Global Care produces gluten-free baked goods, which are in great demand, and has opened a sales point in Caserta.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA