https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07mOb4BLNwE Mafia and gang bosses tend to be male - but the former head of the one of the most-feared clans in Naples was in fact Maria Licciardi. Her nicknames include "La Madrina" ("The Godmother"), "La Piccolina" ("The Little Girl") and "La principessa" ("The princess"), and she is a known affiliate of the Italian Mafia-type crime syndicate the Camorra who operate throughout Naples and the surrounding Campania region of Italy. Between 1993 and 2001, Licciardi dominated the Camorra organised-crime scene and controlled Naples in brutal style - exerting influence over the 20 clans who made up the mafia-style syndicate. The now 53-year-old oversaw the enslavement of hundreds of young Italian women into prostitution, ordered murders and bombed a prosecutor's office, and also led the Licciardi clan of the Camorra during a dispute over heroin. This dispute resulted in a Naples-wide "war", which saw more than 100 people killed due to a succession of car bombs and bazooka shots. Worryingly, despite Licciardi being locked up in 2001, an Italian sociologist declared: "She's in prison, but she still commands. Prisons don't represent a barrier." Frighteningly, Licciardi still manages to rule the streets of Naples with an iron fist from inside prison. So, beware next time you head to the Sorrento peninsula...
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.