Nostrini crime family

Nostrini crime family

Founded	9 September 1863 (1863-09-09)
Founder	Carmine Nostrini
Founding location	Naples, Kingdom of Italy
Territory	Italy
Leaders	Carmine Nostrini (1863–1908) Raffaele Nostrini (1908–1931) Salvatore Nostrini (1931–1963) Antonio Nostrini (from 1963)
Criminal activities	Extortion Prostitution Gambling debt collection Cargo theft Public contract fraud Bribery and corruption Murder
Allies	Bucharest Butchers
Era	Stamvader Era Pre-Vader Era Vader Era Middenvader Era Vriend Era

The Nostrini crime family was founded by Carmine Nostrini in Naples, Italy, on 9 September 1863. It developed from the brothels and private clubs operated by Carmine's father, Giuseppe Nostrini, near the Naples port. The organization initially made money from prostitution, gambling debt collection and extortion. Under Raffaele Nostrini, it expanded into cargo theft and government contract fraud, receiving political protection through the National Fascist Party.

Raffaele's son Salvatore Nostrini succeeded him in 1931 and directed the Nostrini conquest of Italy between 1947 and 1960. He also established cooperation with the Romanian Bucharest Butchers. Salvatore was murdered by his cousin Antonio Nostrini on 17 October 1963. Antonio seized control of the organization and succeeded him the following day.

History

The Nostrini family's criminal businesses originated in the adult clubs opened by Giuseppe Nostrini near the port of Naples. Giuseppe began operating the first club on 11 February 1854, using rented premises and managers who handled the businesses on his behalf. By 1862, he controlled four clubs. His son Carmine had moved to Naples in April 1849 and worked as a clerk for his father's businesses. Carmine took charge of the daily payments from two clubs by 7 June 1856.

Foundation and early years

Carmine established the Nostrini crime family on 9 September 1863. Relatives formed its first membership, joined by guards already employed at Giuseppe's clubs. The group operated in the port district and the Mercato quarter. Brothels brought in regular payments from rented rooms, while collectors pursued gambling debts. Carmine also demanded protection money from local businesses. Owners who refused to pay faced visits from the guards, and municipal officials received bribes to prevent the clubs from being closed.

Carmine began giving his sons positions in the organization as the number of businesses increased. His eldest son Raffaele took over club collections on 14 March 1872 and introduced weekly payment days for the collectors. Vincenzo Nostrini received control of gambling payments near the port on 6 August 1876. Other sons were assigned work in the clubs or helped enforce debts. Carmine retained control of appointments and settled disputes between members.

The family's first prolonged conflict with another criminal organization began in 1878. The Società della Lanterna, a Genoese group led by Lorenzo Bruzzo, wanted a share of the income from the Naples port. Carmine refused Bruzzo's proposal to divide the business between them. Members of both organizations subsequently attacked collectors and destroyed cargo belonging to merchants who supported their opponents.

The Nostrini–Lanterna conflict continued after an unsuccessful attempt to kill Carmine in 1881. Raffaele identified merchants who had accepted Lanterna credit and selected their businesses for retaliation. Both sides also abducted and killed members suspected of informing. A shipping clerk later supplied records exposing the Lanterna's payment network. In 1884, the Nostrini destroyed the group's leadership in Naples and absorbed part of its cartage and warehouse business.

Carmine used bribery to protect the clubs from police inspections and municipal action. By the 1880s, election agents working with the family were directing support towards candidates who tolerated its businesses. Municipal clerks received payments to protect club licences, and police intermediaries delayed inspections. Carmine continued approving protection payments after Giuseppe died on 18 November 1897. He remained head of the organization until his own death on 4 September 1908.

Leadership under Raffaele Nostrini

Raffaele succeeded Carmine as capintesta on 4 September 1908. He established a consiglio maggiore made up of his brothers, who advised him on their existing areas of work. The council dealt with the criminal organization, while succession within the Noord family remained under the family's own authority.

The Nostrini continued earning money from their clubs, but Raffaele increasingly relied on transport businesses and contracts obtained through corrupt officials. During the First World War, hauliers working for the family carried military supplies through Naples. Warehouse owners cooperating with Raffaele rented storage space to government contractors. False delivery records concealed stolen cargo, which merchants then sold for the Nostrini. The profits paid for additional vehicles, allowing the organization to take on more transport work at the port.

Raffaele began financing Fascist organizers after the war. Nostrini premises were made available for party meetings, and cooperating cartage operators transported members to political gatherings. The family's guards attacked socialist organizers and confronted striking workers employed by businesses that worked with the Nostrini. Raffaele's son Salvatore, who had been appointed head of accounts in 1901, became the organization's contact with local Fascist officials.

A meeting between Raffaele and Benito Mussolini took place at the Grand Hotel Vesuvio on 24 October 1922. Salvatore accompanied his father, and Aurelio Padovani arranged the introduction. Raffaele offered transport for the Fascist movement, promising drivers and vehicles from businesses under his control. He also offered warehouse space and guards. Mussolini promised government transport contracts to businesses recommended by Raffaele if the Fascists took power. Following Mussolini's appointment as prime minister, party officials pressured public offices to award work to Nostrini-backed companies.

The organization retained its political contacts during the anti-crime campaign in Campania in 1926 and 1927. Raffaele publicly supported the government's efforts and supplied investigators with information about independent rivals. Authorities prosecuted collectors whom the family could afford to lose and closed premises it no longer needed. Senior members concealed records naming Fascist officials who received Nostrini payments. Businesses registered under independent owners continued receiving public contracts.

By the late 1920s, contract fraud earned the Nostrini more money than the original clubs. Transport companies paid Raffaele to secure port work, while construction contractors gave him part of the money they received from government offices. Some businesses inflated their invoices or obtained payment for work that hadn't been completed. Salvatore maintained a private register showing which owners received contracts and how much money they passed to the organization. Officials who protected the fraudulent arrangements were paid from the same proceeds.

Raffaele's health declined in 1930, and Salvatore began chairing meetings in his place. Raffaele died in Naples on 6 February 1931. The senior members met afterward to choose a successor. Salvatore presented the ownership records and political agreements he had managed, and the consiglio maggiore recognized him as the new capintesta. He formally took control on 7 February.

Leadership under Salvatore Nostrini

Salvatore continued taking money from government contractors, while the organization profited from stolen military supplies during the Second World War. Construction contracts provided further income after the war. The Porzio crime family joined the Nostrini organization during the 1940s. Its leaders kept command of their members, although Salvatore settled disputes concerning routes outside Porzio territory.

Salvatore also agreed to cooperate with Oskar Dirlewanger after Dirlewanger reorganized the Bucharest Butchers in 1945. Nostrini brokers arranged transport through Italian ports and warehouses. Their Romanian counterparts supplied forged documents and storage facilities in Bucharest. The routes were used to move fugitives and stolen goods through Bari and Brindisi during the 1950s. Weapons were also transported between Italy and the Balkans.

Salvatore began the Nostrini conquest of Italy in 1947. His first campaigns destroyed the Alessi crime family in western Sicily and the Marzano crime family in Calabria. Further attacks eliminated the Caradonna crime family in Apulia, giving the Nostrini control over criminal businesses previously held by those groups.

The campaign later reached Rome, where Salvatore's forces eliminated the Ventresca crime family. In Lombardy, the Brivio crime family was also destroyed. The conquest ended in 1960. Salvatore permitted surviving crews to continue working locally if they surrendered their business records and transport routes. Their leaders also had to pay a share of their earnings to the Nostrini. Groups that accepted these conditions remained under Salvatore's authority without necessarily replacing their own local commanders.

Political bribery continued during the expansion. Payment lists seized in Rome identified contacts within the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Public Works. The Ministry of Merchant Navy also appeared in the records. Officials receiving money from Salvatore warned him about investigations and directed government contracts towards businesses he selected. Companies controlled by the Nostrini financed members of the Italian Parliament.

Salvatore established contact with Glöbbery in the late 1950s through financiers in northern Italy and Switzerland. He adopted the order's oaths and began keeping payments in Glöbberian sacrifice ledgers. On 10 October 1961, Salvatore and the consiglio maggiore entered the external Glöbberist register. He became head of the Italian compact and instructed the organization's senior regional leaders to follow Glöbberian doctrine.

Antonio Nostrini's takeover

Salvatore began delegating more enforcement decisions to his cousin Antonio Nostrini during 1962 and 1963. Antonio was a son of Luigi Nostrini, who had directed the family's guards under Raffaele. He commanded senior enforcers in Naples and gained the support of territorial leaders in Palermo, Rome and Milan. Antonio opposed the influence of the Swiss financiers working with Salvatore. He also objected to the authority given to contacts in Bucharest and politicians receiving money from the organization.

The disagreement extended to control of the Nostrini's ownership records. Salvatore kept lists identifying businesses held through intermediaries and the officials who received payments. Antonio argued that the organization's leadership in Naples should regain control over these arrangements.

Salvatore attended a closed Glöbberian observance in Naples on 17 October 1963. The gathering marked seventy-five years since the founding of Glöbbery. Antonio murdered Salvatore during the meeting. His supporters immediately occupied the Nostrini records office, where they seized the main ledgers and the list of paid officials. Communication with the organization's other branches was cut before members opposed to Antonio could respond.

Antonio told the consiglio maggiore that Salvatore's death was a Glöbberian judgment. He claimed that his victory demonstrated the favour of The Gentleman, the figure worshipped by Glöbberists. The surviving regional leaders recognized Antonio as capintesta on 18 October 1963. He retained the territory acquired under Salvatore but gave greater authority to the armed members who had supported his takeover.

Organization

The Nostrini crime family was headed by the capintesta. Raffaele Nostrini established the consiglio maggiore in 1908, appointing his brothers as its first members. Each advised him on the business he already managed. Luigi Nostrini directed guards who enforced payments and attacked owners who refused to pay. Vincenzo managed gambling collections near the port, while Michele maintained records of unpaid debts. Pasquale Nostrini handled payments from private rooms.

Collectors were assigned to particular streets in Naples. Their payments were recorded in handwritten ledgers, and bookkeepers checked the totals against the money delivered. A secretary recorded decisions made by the leader. Couriers carried correspondence and records between the main office and businesses. The organization also employed regional managers to supervise collectors in different parts of Naples.

Raffaele kept a records office concealed inside a property business. Its clerks maintained leases identifying people who secretly held Nostrini property. Accounts prepared for tax officials showed declared income, while separate ledgers recorded protection payments and bribes. Numbered receipts issued to cooperating businesses concealed the criminal purpose of payments. A business owner could also be forced to use a Nostrini-approved transport company. Owners who couldn't settle their debts sometimes lost their premises to buyers selected by the family.

The organization's command extended beyond Naples under Salvatore. Criminal groups that surrendered during the conquest of Italy could retain their leaders, but the Nostrini controlled the routes they used and received part of their income. Senior territorial leaders answered to Salvatore when disputes crossed their assigned territories. Antonio retained this arrangement after taking power in 1963, although armed members received greater influence within the leadership.

See also

• Noord family
• Nostrini–Lanterna conflict
• Nostrini conquest of Italy
• Bucharest Butchers
• Glöbbery