Michele Zagaria

Michele Zagaria (Italian pronunciation: [miˈkɛːle ddzaɡaˈriːa]; born 21 May 1958) is an Italian Camorrista and one of the bosses of the Casalesi clan from Casal di Principe in the province of Caserta northwest of Naples. He was nicknamed Capastorta, which translates to "twisted head", because of his violent reputation.

He was on the "most wanted list" of the Italian ministry of the Interior from 1995 until 2011, for Camorra association, murder, extortion, robbery and other crimes. On 8 February 2000, an international warrant was issued against him, to be arrested for extradition.

Criminal career

The criminal career of Michele Zagaria, began in the 1980s, alongside Alberto Beneduce and Francesco Schiavone. His first arrest dates back to 1988, when he was found with a 7.65 submachine gun—the weapon of choice for soldiers of the Camorra—in his car. Since then he was in and out of jail, until, on 6 December 1995, the so-called Spartacus investigation identified him as one of the heads of the Casalesi clan. Since then he vanished from public life.

Zagaria is an atypical Casalesi boss. According to informants, he doesn't refuse a few lines of cocaine, a strict taboo within the clan. He insists on being treated like a priest: 'You should do what I say and not what I do.' He knows how to construct his image. Employees are allegedly received in extravagant villas and greeted with a tiger on a leash. Together with his brother Pasquale he has become the "king of tendering" in construction, getting public contracts for the high-speed train Tav, a new prison, the local rail line and a NATO radar base.