Casalesi Boss’s Jail Term Upheld for Threatening Writer Saviano

Naples: Casalesi crime boss Francesco Bidognetti on Monday had his one and a half year jail term confirmed on appeal for making threats against anti-mafia writer Roberto Saviano in a Naples court in 2008. Bidognetti, who was already among the Campania Camorra mafia family bosses implicated in death threats over Saviano’s 2006 expos© “Gomorra,” was re-convicted alongside a lawyer for issuing new threats against the writer and fellow anti-Mafia journalist Rosaria Capacchione.

According to Ansa News Agency, “Gomorra” (Gomorrah) was adapted into a 2008 film that won second prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and later inspired a globally successful TV series. Bidognetti and other Casalesi bosses are currently serving extensive to life sentences for murder and other Mafia-related crimes. The Casalesi family derives its name from its stronghold in Casal di Principe, situated north of Naples.

In an emotional reaction to the verdict, Saviano, 45, was seen in tears as he embraced his lawyer and addressed reporters, expressing that the ordeal had “robbed me of my life.” He added, “Sixteen years of trial is no victory for anyone, but I have proof that the Camorra publicly gave its interpretation in a courtroom: that it is the information that frightens them.”

Saviano continued to highlight the significance of the ruling, stating, “Now we have official proof in this second trial that the bosses and their lawyers signed an appeal in which they targeted those who reported on criminal power. And they didn’t attack politics but journalism, insinuating that they would hold journalists-and my name and that of Rosaria Capacchione were mentioned-responsible for their convictions. This has never happened in a courtroom anywhere in the world.”