This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Italian policemen escort fugitive mobster Michele Zagaria Italian police had to drill into a concrete bunker underground to get to Michele Zagaria As NPR's Sylvia Poggioli tells our Newscast unit Sylvia adds that Michele Zagaria "is the head of one of the bloodiest clans of the Neapolitan mafia called the Camorra and they've been involved in an enormous number of illegal activity Probably the most prominent is the illegal transport and disposal of toxic waste which has become a huge problem in the whole Naples area." Reuters has a bit more on the story: sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for murder in 2008 was captured in his home town of Casapesenna "Zagaria's bunker was about 50 square meters (540 sq feet) in size and hidden behind a 5-metre (16 feet) thick wall of reinforced concrete that opened and closed electronically "Police cut off electricity and air to the bunker The bunker was decorated with crucifixes and sacred images and it was clear that he had lived there for years The BBC reports that there was "jubilation" among the authorities who made the arrest and that Zagaria admitted defeat The state has won," the BBC reports Zagaria told authorities Sylvia adds that the arrest comes a day after a police arrested 50 others in relation to mob activity Become an NPR sponsor The demolition operations will last about two weeks in the presence of the Minister of the Interior operations for the demolition of the villa-bunker in Casapesenna (Caserta) belonging to the Casalesi boss Michele Zagaria The bunker will be buried to allow for the construction of a public park You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed alleged head of the Casalesi clan of the Camorra a web of criminal gangs that pervades the region around Naples was found in an underground hideout in the town of Casapesenna Police said there were five metres of reinforced concrete between Zagaria's bunker and the floor of the house in which he was hiding the mobster's first words to them were: "You've won who was able to monitor the arrival of his captors on closed-circuit television tried to flee but was thwarted by a faulty mechanism in the hatch through which he attempted to escape that they had blocked all the exits from his hideout They also cut off the electricity to his lair so that Zagaria spent his final hours in the dark It took police more than three hours to drill their way into his refuge The arrest of the 53-year-old clan boss led to scenes of jubilation among the police officers outside Others punched the air amid cries of "Long live the police Witnesses said Zagaria's hideout was in the house of a suspected associate Access was through a portion of the floor in one of the bedrooms that slid back on rails On the walls of the underground refuge police found formula one motor racing posters and several photographs of Zagaria's family arranged in the shape of a heart There were two beds and a small collection of books Some had been written by an anti-mafia prosecutor who tracked him for years and was given round-the-clock protection after death threats Another was Gomorrah – the Casalesi clan was central to Roberto Saviano's global bestseller whose book formed the basis for a successful film of the same name put out a message on Twitter: "Zagaria The prosecutors who found him said the clan boss had been living in his cramped quarters for years The breakthrough came hours after some 50 people were detained in raids in several parts of Italy connected to investigations into the affairs of the Casalesi prosecutors asked parliament for permission to arrest a former junior minister in the Berlusconi government accused of providing the clan with political support Investigators maintain that the Casalesi run a lucrative illegal business transporting and disposing of toxic waste Police have recently seized around €2bn (£1.7bn) of the clan's assets It is also deeply involved in the building trade Saviano said it was his "business acumen" that had "enabled his companies to triumph throughout Italy" when it came to winning tenders by undercutting other companies "Michele Zagaria and his construction firms know no rival" while he retained his ultimate authority over the clan and its enterprises He was sentenced in absentia to life in prison for murder in 2008 Yesterday's was the third major blow to the Casalesi in recent years was seized after a rooftop chase by the carabinieri police captured Antonio "The Kid" Iovine so-called because of his boyish appearance has been arrested by Italian Police in an underground bunker in Casapesenna (AP) Michele Zagaria was found by the Italian Police in an underground bunker in Casapesenna in his hometown province of Caserta in southern Italy (AP) Wed 7 Dec 2011 at 19:57One of Italy's most wanted fugitive mobsters has been captured by police was found in an underground bunker in Casapesenna in his home town province of Caserta in southern Italy headquarters of the Casalesi clan of the Neapolitan Camorra Anti-mafia prosecutor Piero Grasso said it was likely Zagaria had spent his years as a fugitive nearby since mob bosses "can only exercise their power if they're in an environment that protects them" He said: "This was the nightmare: we knew he was there He noted that the Casalesis' well-known infiltration of local businesses and politics was similar to that of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra Investigators contend the Casalesi family runs a lucrative illegal business in transporting and disposing of toxic waste a murky world explored in the book and film Gomorrah Other moneymakers for the crime clan are rackets Police have seized about £2 billion-worth of assets allegedly illegally gained by its members over the last few years another top Casalesi lieutenant Antonio Iovine nicknamed "'o ninno'" (dialect for "the baby") for his youthful looks was arrested in a major strike against the family His arrest left Zagaria as the last big fugitive lieutenant of the charismatic convicted Camorra boss Francesco Schiavone Nicknamed Sandokan after the hero of a series of pirate adventure books in Italy Schiavone is believed to control the Casalesi clan from behind bars Join the Irish Independent WhatsApp channel Italian police have arrested the most senior boss of the Camorra mafia still at large digging through a secret bunker near Naples to end his 16 years on the run considered to be the leader of the powerful and bloody Casalesi clan has already been sentenced in absentia to multiple life terms in prison for a career of murder Zagaria was hidden in a bunker with a thick ceiling of reinforced concrete under a home in the town of Casapesenna The state has won," Zagaria reportedly told anti-mafia investigators as he was being arrested He has been the subject of an international arrest warrant since 2000 Italian prosecutors on Tuesday carried out 47 arrests in a crackdown on the Casaelsi clan and asked lawmakers to strip an MP from former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's party of his parliamentary immunity to arrest him too involved in drug trafficking and construction was at the centre of a book "Gomorrah" by investigative journalist Roberto Saviano who has been forced into hiding because of threats against his life The book was later turned into an award-winning film Italian police in November 2010 arrested Antonio "The Baby" Iovine was picked up as he tried to jump from a balcony please register for free or log in to your account.