ABSTRACT
The construction industry was the first significant source of wealth for the Casalesi clan, one of the most powerful Camorra groups operating in the northern part of Campania. Judicial files describe this clan as a particularly compact structure, with a federation of groups connected to a central decision-making body and a military control of the territory obtained through the use of violence and the construction of a large network of external supporters, in particular in the local administration of public tenders. The literature on the topic highlights their aptitude for reinvesting illegal funds in complex businesses, especially by obtaining public contracts and tenders in the construction industry. This chapter shows the Camorra’s ability to regulate the this market by focusing on the use of violence carried out in order to control workers, avoid strikes and protests and keep trade unions out of the way. The methodology relies on a qualitative biographic approach which discusses two life histories that are somehow ‘antithetical’: on the one hand, that of a well-known trade union representative of the construction industry, victim of violent intimidation (attempted murder); on the other hand, his assailant, who was affiliated with a Camorra clan once belonging to the federation of Casalesi and has recently turned state’s witness.
