There are four, now.
For centuries, Italy had three organized crime groups to dominate illegal activity in the peninsula: Cosa Nostra of Sicily, Camorra of Campania, and ’Ndrangheta of Calabria.
Now, add Società Foggiana to Italy’s underbelly of crime syndicates. Their domain: Puglia.
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Crime Boss Leonardo
He was on the run for five years.
Today, he’s caught.
Italian special forces took down Leonardo Gesualdo, the alleged leading figure of the Società Foggiana, Italy’s newest mafia organization.
Gesualdo, 39, was arrested in a dawn raid, on October 7, by the elite Carabinieri GIS (Special Intervention Group) at his hideout in Foggia, in the northern section of Puglia. Armed with one loaded pistol, Gesualdo wisely surrendered without resistance. Investigators said the weapon had an erased serial number.
Gesualdo was convicted some years back for being a mafia associate after the completion of the “Decima bis” investigation, a sweeping anti-mafia operation that targeted the upper ranks of organized crime in Puglia. His capture followed months of surveillance by the Carabinieri of Foggia, coordinated by the Anti-Mafia District Directorate (DDA) of Bari.
Gesualdo was sound asleep before police gave him a loud wakeup call in the way of detonated explosions to breach his hideout. The arrest symbolizes the ascension of the newest mafia family in Italy - Società Foggiana.
Authorities describe Gesualdo as a high-ranking member of the Moretti–Pellegrino–Lanza clan, one of several interlinked factions of Italy's newest mafia. He is believed to have specialized in extortion and drug trafficking, two of the syndicate’s main revenue streams. He was accused—but later acquitted—of the murder of Claudio Soccio, a man shot and killed in 2011 beneath the apartment of Gesualdo’s mother.
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About the Società Foggiana
The name sounds civic. The literal translation—The Society of Foggia—could be mistaken for a chamber of commerce or historical club. Yet, they are considered, by law enforcement, the most violent of Italy’s mafias.
The Società Foggiana—often called the Foggia Mafia—is the fourth major mafia organization in Italy, alongside Cosa Nostra in Sicily, the ’Ndrangheta in Calabria, and the Camorra in Naples. Based in the province of Foggia in northern Puglia, the criminal organization began in the 1980s when local criminal gangs decided to work together. Twenty years later, a structure of secret codes, similar to Sicily’s Cosa Nostra, were established. Police estimate that Società Foggiana, today, has over 1,000 soldiers and 300 affiliates.
Italian prosecutors have described the Società Foggiana as the most violent and unpredictable Mafia in Italy. They are notorious for bombings, extortion rackets, arms trafficking, and drug smuggling. Their intimidating status allows them to control much of the economy of Italy’s southeast.
Police now claim Società Foggiana as “Italy’s most brutal mafia.” A number of businesses in northern Puglia are said to live under constant threat of fire bombings and reprisal attacks if they refuse to pay protection money. The Italian government has launched multiple operations—like Decima bis—to dismantle the leadership structure of Società Foggiana, yet the organization returns with added strength.
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The Criminal Focus of the Società Foggiana
While all Italian mafia organizations rely on extortion, drug trafficking, and intimidation, the Società Foggiana distinguishes itself in extreme violence and a primitive business model. One investigator described them as “a mafia still in its savage phase.” They are less sophisticated in financial operations than Sicily’s Cosa Nostra or Calabria’s ’Ndrangheta, but brutally efficient in terrorizing this area of southern Italy.
Extortion and Protection Rackets
The Società Foggiana’s most consistent and pervasive source of income is extortion, known locally as il pizzo.
Shop owners, bar operators, builders, and even morticians are forced to pay “protection” money, often in monthly envelopes or through forced purchases of goods and services tied to the clan. Those who refuse are targeted with fire bombings, drive-by shootings, or nighttime explosions, acts designed to send a public message of dominance. In Foggia, police have recorded hundreds of arson attacks on local businesses since 2017, most attributed to the Società Foggiana.
Drug Trafficking
Police claim the Società Foggiana has become a major conduit for narcotics entering Italy from the Balkans and Albania, exploiting Italy’s lower eastern coastline. The clans control the distribution of cocaine, heroin, and hashish throughout Puglia, using small independent dealers who pay a “tax” to operate. Some of the drugs are believed to move inland toward Naples and Rome, in coordination with Camorra intermediaries. The Società Foggiana’s leadership, especially the Moretti–Pellegrino–Lanza clan, has long maintained family and smuggling ties with Albania and Montenegro, say police.
Robbery, Loan Sharking, and Arms Trafficking
According to law enforcement, the Società Foggiana remains active in bank and armored-car robberies, often staged with military precision. Loan sharking targets local families and small businesses at usurious interest rates. Arms smuggling, mainly small weapons and explosives, often sourced from Eastern Europe, has become a business centerpiece of Società Foggiana, say police.
Public Contracts and Money Laundering
In the beginning, the Società Foggiana lacked financial sophistication in comparison with Italy’s other Mafia organizations, most notably Cosa Nostra in Sicily. Investigators have observed a gradual shift. They say the clans are infiltrating construction firms, waste collection, and public maintenance contracts, often through straw owners. Profits are laundered through bars, gas stations, and real estate in Foggia and along the Adriatic coast, according to police.
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The Società Foggiana thrives through a cycle of fear and immediacy. They dominate through raw intimidation. Their model can be summed up in one phrase often used by Italian prosecutors: “Poche parole, molte bombe.” (Few words, many bombs.)
Editor’s Note: A photograph taken by the Carabinieri in the dawn raid of Leonardo Gesualdo’s hideout in Foggia, the map shows the location of Foggia, a center of activity for Italy's newest mafia, the next two photographs highlight the use of car bombs by Società Foggiana, and the police arrest Rocco Moretti, a leader of the Moretti-Pellegrino-Lanza clan of the Società Foggiana.
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