Naples’ Mafia Boss Executed In Beach Resort

A boss of Naples’ Camorra crime organization was gunned down in front of hundreds of tourists on Thursday night in the resort town of Terracina, 50 miles south of Rome.

Gaetano Marino, 48, was executed outside a beach club, still wearing his swimsuit, having been shot at least seven times.

Called Wooden Hands or Stumpy because he wore prosthetic devices after a homemade bomb blew his hands off a decade ago, Marino was allegedly a prominent member of the Scissionisti (or "secessionists") clan of the Camorra.

Local police believe he was killed by rival Camorristi (most likely the Di Lauro clan) as part of a vicious turf war between drug dealers in the districts of Scampia and Secondigliano in Naples.

The gunman shot his target with a 9mm automatic pistol, then escaped in a grey or white Fiat Punto. It is not clear if the shooter had any accomplices.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Marino may have been lured out into the street outside the beach club by a mobile phone call. His wife and children remained inside the club and were not hurt.

Marino sparked outraged in February this year when the RAI television network featured a program in which his daughter sang a tribute to her father who was in the audience. Roberto Saviano, the author and anti-mafia activist, condemned RAI for glorifying criminals.

On a broader scale, the Naples-based Camorra has been steadily moving its activities up the coast toward Rome, increasing the frequency of street violence in the Lazio region.

Last month, another Camorra chieftain, Modestino Pellino, 46, was shot to death in Nettuno, just south of Rome.