There have been many legendary underworld figures over the decades, those select few gangsters
who seized the public's imagination and become especially notorious. But few achieve that status
at a young age. Imagine building a formidable empire from nothing, in the heart of one of
the world's most dangerous ganglands, being so fierce you warrant assassination and then are
mythologized and enshrined to such an extent the federal government intervenes to try and
quash the hero worship — all while still a teenager.
The Mob Reporter here with the story of Emanuele Sibillo, the so-called baby boss
whose shrine in the historic center of Naples, home to Italy's deadly and dangerous Camorra Mafia
was raided this week and forcibly dismantled, while almost
two dozen of his young acolytes were arrested in an anti-Mafia probe
Let me tell you about it
It's been six years since Sibillo was struck in the back in an ambush on the street. The shots came in
the middle of the night, while he was out with his pals, who are also his criminal associates
His buddies desperately rushed him to a hospital on their motorbikes, but nothing could be done
He was just 19 years old. Since then, his ashes have been enshrined in an altar on the streets
he once rode, treated like a religious relic of a saint. Some came there to worship his memory
sprawling graffiti to keep his name alive and remembering his face through photos and
a statue, complete with his beard and the heavy glasses he wore. Others, it is said, were victims
of his extortionate gang, forced to come and kneel at the shrine to enforce their humility
and compliance as they paid their street tax to the men who were once just boys. Like Sibillo
Police couldn't take it any longer and this week came in force to remove it. It sparked confrontation with
his family, as captured here by local news cameras. "Everyone get out" this man shouts, "he's dead enough!"
It's remarkable how we got here. Sibillo grew up in a city that was constantly wrenched by alarming
violence as Camorra factions fought for control of territories and rackets in a crowded gangland. The
Camorra, despite being one of the oldest Mafias of Italy, has little in the way of centralized power
leading to fractured clans — sometimes even rival clans within the same family.
By 2010, Sibillo had chosen the life he wished to live
At the age of 15 police arrived at his house and he was caught tossing two handguns out of a window
He did a stint in a community group home from where he fled
Caught and locked up again, he began to stand out for being studious and thoughtful
He flirted with being a journalist. He is seen here in a clip that seems to be for a journalism class
which was found and shown in an italian documentary. In it he displays the boldness
to confront an official with hard questions about government support for young people who
have had troubles with the law, and at the same time he shows the unmistakable shyness of youth
By 2012, he was back on the street. He became active at a time when gangland was changing
Many of the recognizable Camorrista bosses were fugitives, dead, or imprisoned. It left
space on the city's streets where the young and the ballsy could move
And move they did — quick and darting, like little fish. In fact, in Italy they became known as the
"paranza dei bambini." A "paranza" is an old type of coastal fishing boat from which fishermen cast
wide nets and drew in a mixed bag teeming with all manner of small fish and shrimps. In the
criminal context around Naples, it became a term for the young gangbangers teeming in the streets
The little fish were small fry, so to speak, who had big dreams of underworld glory. That criminal
context was made famous by writer Roberto Saviano, most famous for his book on the Camorra called
"Gomorrah," which spawned a TV series of the same name. He also wrote on the baby gangs in Italian. It
was called "La Paranza dei Bambini." The English translation captures the intent: The Piranhas
These kids demanded the entitlements of being a gangster with the gusto and carelessness of youth
They had no time for the quiet life of omerta and the low profile of a traditional boss. They wanted
their cachet immediately and spending it just as quick, living loud, proud and openly in charge
seemingly drawing as much inspiration from the Mexican and South American cartels
as they did their own Mafia traditions. They recruited by sharing their exploits
through social media. A prosecutor from the region said that the boys of Naples
once played football with each other in the streets but the allure of gang life
changed all that. They now shoot each other on the same patches of pavement
On the street Sibillo used the moniker ES17 and people gravitated to him. The young looked up to
him, his contemporaries did his bidding, and those older? Well, they soon had to listen to him as well
He became an example, a leader, an idol. And he also became a brand. He grew his beard
long and shaved the sides of his head, a look his acolyte soon copied. He wore dark heavy glasses
His look was certainly distinctive, certainly in Naples although perhaps not so much in Baghdad
Was the beard compensating for his youth — masking his baby face? Was he emulating
someone or something; revolutionaries like Fidel Castro, the Russian monk Rasputin; some suggested
he was imitating the look of jihadis, so popular in the media at the time, perhaps for shock value
In any case, by 2013 he had a seat at the table with Camorra leaders, as the boss of a new micro
clan within the Secondigliano Alliance. By the age of 18 he was recognized as a leading boss of the
fearless baby gangs, even though he wasn't the strongest, his group wasn't the biggest,
and his territory far from the largest. It seems he just had the best branding. Maybe he learned
something after all, studying media and journalism — the power of image, the strength of ideas,
the impact of a photo and well-chosen words. He forged an alliance with the Giuliano clan, a once
dominating Camorra group whose power base was in the center of Naples for decades. The giuliano clan
was losing ground in its traditional stronghold neighborhoods to their rivals the Mazzarella
But the Mazzarella had baby gangs of their own and the kids would clash on the streets
and in the alleyways of Naples. Dozens died. Dozens more were arrested. But there seemed
no end to new recruits.
On July 2, 2015, in the middle of the night, Sibillo was with his friends when they were ambushed in the street
His death galvanized the young in the streets of Naples
He was far from the first baby gangster to die. Not even the first baby boss to fall in these
street battles. But his life, his death, it meant something to the young in Naples. Sibillo's followers
continued on, still known as the Sibillo clan. His brother, Pasquale, was a big part of that
Here is Pasquale under arrest, just four months after his brother's death
Later, police say, Pasquale continued to issue orders to the clan from prison
Meanwhile, the ashes of Emanuele Sibillo were placed in an alcove in the courtyard where
his family lives, in the center of Naples. It's off a narrow alley, near a school. It was secured
by iron gates with handles in the shape of his initials. There was a bust of his face, photos
and letters, flower boxes, and a large painting of the Madonna, the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus
It became an altar, an underworld shrine. Authorities say victims of the clan's
extortion and racketeering had to come deliver their "pizzo" — the illegal payments forced by the
mob from businesses to be left alone to operate in their turf. The businessmen were expected to bow or
kneel at the altar, police said, and pay homage to ES17, as well as money to the clan he forged
Those who refused met violence and threats, bullets and bombs, authorities allege. On April
28, 2021, authorities had had enough with this hero worship. They said the altar was
used as a tool of extortion, making it a criminal apparatus rather than a private family memorial
It was the featured part of a civic crackdown on public displays praising
Naples' mobsters as federal police officers and the fire brigade came for ES17s altar
Metal saws cut through the gate. Everything but the painting of the Madonna were removed
As the second part of their message to the baby gangs, 21 people were arrested,
accused of belonging to the Sibillo clan. The charges include Mafia association, extortion,
drug dealing, possession of firearms, receiving stolen goods, and exploitation
Meanwhile, life and death go on in Naples without Sibillo and the media distraction of him as the baby
boss. With each passing day, those of his generation who survive achieve something Sibillo never could
They age. They live. They have a life. If Emanuele Sibillo was alive today, he'd be in his mid-20s
We'll never know what he could have achieved. No matter how much a new generation of baby gangsters
venerate Sibillo, and romanticize the drama of his life, they might one day learn that valuable lesson
Thanks for watching