part 1

The mafia in Italy was know by different names according to the region it came from. If it came from Calabria it was know as LA DANGREDA. From Sicily COSA NOSTRA, from Naples CAMORRA. 
To non Italians the word mafia conjured up the image of Marlon Brando and Al Pacino in The Godfather. A romantic portrayal of the Corleone family, the film that made Al Pacino, amount so many famous.
Sadly the reality is less romantic, this form of criminality has no longer its roots in the non oppression of the poor, but rather its own selfish interests of greed and power. It’s so entrenched in the political and economic structure of Italian society.
My father, an American Italian, was extremely unlucky. He moved down to an area where it was well know for shoe wholesale, but it happened at a time when the majority of the wholesale were selling up and moving out. Unbeknown to my father certain Camorra were taking over the this area. Considering he had tried so hard all his life non to be involved with these people while he was living and growing  up in Naples he was now literally working next door to them. Of course it did not take long for them to start approaching my father who made it very. clear that he wanted nothing to do with them.  This caused a great deal of animosity between them, they would walk up and down in front of my fathers shop and spit on the ground, my father pretended not to see it, but he knew they were looking straight at him when they did it.
The fear of being constantly observed and not knowing what their intentions were towards him, wore him down over the years.