Anxious for the actual facts, the writer asked an Italian friend to secure an interview with Cavalier Tarantelli, Questor of Florence, who for a long time was a functionary of the Public Safety in Naples, and testified in this capacity, at Viterbo, on August 9, 1911. In discussing the power of the Camorra, the Questor, after having given it as his opinion that the actual criminal organization had lost most of its unity, said: “At present there exist what are called ‘combricole di quartiere’ (conventicles of the quarters) small secret associations of ‘camorristi’ belonging to the same quarter of Naples. Naturally the different combricole in the different quarters of Naples assist each other, as likewise do the different chiefs of the quarters. Perhaps there is still a kind of hierarchy among the chiefs as there may still exist a hierarchy among the ‘camorristi’ in the different quarters. These ‘camorristi’ are, as a rule, bad characters, whose chief characteristics are immorality and overbearing insolence, and who live accordingly. They impose upon women and get money out of them; they practice usury; they receive and hide stolen things. Naples has now a special and intense criminality. The ‘camorristi’ are at present almost all habitual criminals. But the real so-called ‘act of camorra’ (atto d’camorra) is extortion, namely, a price imposed upon those who fear individual or collective imposition, either occult or open, on the part of the ‘Camorra.’ Every morning a ‘camorrista’ will go to the shopkeepers and tradesmen of the quarter (quartiere) and collect the price paid by him to be let alone. There are instances even nowadays of people who go to the chief ‘camorrista’ of their quarter in order to have their persons and property protected. This protection, however, is now more apparent than real. For instance, it is much more difficult now than it was formerly to find people who try to recover stolen property [Pg 252] by having recourse to the ‘Camorra’ rather than to the police. The ‘camorristi’ are extremely numerous in Naples; at funeral processions, for example, you may see thousands of them. Songs are sung beneath the windows of prisons by the friends and relatives of the prisoners as a means of communicating with the latter. But this custom of ‘the songs’ is now disappearing and the same may be said of the ‘dichiaramenti’ (kinds of challenges), and of the tribunal of the ‘Camorra.’ Some large meetings of ‘camorristi’ still take place now and then. They will meet in some deserted place in the country far away from the city or among the mountains. I shall not deny that the judiciary of Naples is somewhat different from that of Northern Italy. The former is sometimes exceedingly indulgent, perhaps corrupt; that will explain the influence of the ‘Camorra.’ It is no exaggeration to state that magistrates in Naples are at times in awe of the ‘camorristi,’ and especially of their friends who always appear as perfectly honorable persons. It is a fact that the police now endeavor to destroy the ‘Camorra,’ a thing which they would not even have dreamt of a few years ago, and we must not forget that the police consist for the most part of men from the South of Italy. That there are officials and agents taking bribes from secret associations for delinquency is well known, but, of course, that does not occur in Naples or in Italy alone. In Naples the ‘Camorra’ places itself at the disposal of those who pay it, even in the case of elections. As a rule, it is the candidates of the conservative parties who avail themselves of the ‘Camorra.’ Thus, you see, even ministers and prefects may avail themselves of it! At all events, these deplorable facts are becoming less and less frequent. Let us hope they may completely disappear! To the Socialist party, however, must be given the credit of fighting against the ‘Camorra’ to the best of its ability.”

This is an extraordinary admission for a public functionary to make, and it is only fair to the Questor to state that his interview was not made intentionally for publication. It is what would be called in law an “admission against interest” and is evidence of the weightiest character. One can read between the lines that he but hints at the real state of things. [Pg 253] His opinion that the solidarity of the Camorra has been greatly weakened seems to be borne out by many other evidences. For example, the depositions of the informer Abattemaggio are filled with detailed accounts of how various local “camorristi” quarrelled over the division of their petty spoils, tricked and cheated one another, and often betrayed each other to the police. The day of the real camorrista,—he of the swift dagger, the man of “heart,”—seems to be over and to have given place to an era of filthy traders in vice, petty grafters, blackmailers, and cheap thieves. But popular imagination still surrounds these with the halo of romance and regards the Camorra as “the friend of the people.”