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Browning automatic pistol, cal. 7.65 mm
Smith & Wesson revolver used by the British army during the Second World War, cal. 38 S&W (0.38/200)
Smith & Wesson revolver used by the British army during the Second World War, cal. 38 S&W (0.38/200) (Parkerized model)
Pupetta Maresca
MURDERER: Assunta Maresca, known as Pupetta
VICTIM: Antonio Esposito
PLACE AND DATE: Naples, 4 August 1955
MATERIAL EVIDENCE: a pistol, two revolvers
PROVENANCE: Naples, Criminal Court, 1967
Assunta Maresca, known as Pupetta, married the rising Camorra boss Pasquale Simonetti, known as Pascalone ‘e Nola, on 27 April 1955.
After several armed clashes with rival gangs and a spell in prison, Simonetti gave up cigarette smuggling and became a partner of Antonio Esposito, known as Totonno ‘e Pomigliano, another Camorra boss, turning his attention to the fruit and vegetable business.
The local mob had set itself up as the “protector” of peasant farmers and shopkeepers, demanding in exchange the right to fix the price of products, the date of harvesting and delivery, and the buyers. In this way the Camorra controlled the whole chain of the fruit and vegetable business.
In the mid-1950s, however, there was a new development in the national economy which put the Camorra’s illegal business at risk. The major food producers opened offices in the centre of Naples and began to bear the market, forcing both peasant farmers and dealers to sell below cost. The Camorra’s share of the market fell until it only controlled the business between small farmers and retailers, which was no longer enough to guarantee adequate pickings for everyone. It was necessary to clear the field, eliminating those who wanted to take the lion’s share.
The first victim was Pasquale Simonetti, shot on 16 July 1955 by Gaetano Orlando, though the man behind the murder was Antonio Esposito, Simonetti’s former friend and business partner.
Pupetta, six months pregnant, decided to avenge her husband’s death. Accompanied by her brother Ciro and their driver Nicola Vistocco, on 4 August 1955 Pupetta went to the crowded Via Novara, near Naples railway station, and stopped in front of the Grandone Café, not far from the place where Pasquale Simonetti had been killed.
Antonio Esposito was in the café, Pupetta strode up to him and fired a round of bullets, but her thirst for vengeance was so strong that she grabbed her brother’s weapon and continued to fire.
Having taken her revenge, she walked away with Ciro.
She was arrested at dawn on 14 October 1955. The trial commenced in April 1959 at the Court of Assizes inNaples. She was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment, later reduced to 13 years and 4 months by the Court of Appeal. She was pardoned in 1965.
