Before announcing his retirement from singing in 2020, Antonio “Tony” Colombo was arguably the most acclaimed singer of neomelodico, an Italian pop genre that resonates strongly within mafia strongholds in the southern regions of Italy.
His songs were so highly praised among the underworld that when he married Tina Rispoli, the widow of the slain Neapolitan mafia boss Gaetano Marino, in 2019, dozens of members of the Camorra attended their wedding.
Hailing from Palermo, Colombo had become so popular with the Italian mafia that, according to police, he ended up working for them. He and Rispoli were among 27 people arrested this week during a crackdown on members of the Naples mafia. They are both suspected of working with the clan of jailed mobster Marco Di Lauro, police said.
According to prosecutors, Colombo, 37, is believed to have received illicit funds from the clan, disguising them as proceeds from his music career. Colombo and Rispoli have denied any involvement with organised crime.
Among the clan’s ventures was a ready-to-wear clothes line named Corleone, referencing the fictional mafia family from The Godfather films. The clan also reportedly launched an energy drink called 9mm, named after a caliber of handgun ammunition.
Having released more than 20 albums and performed concerts throughout Italy, Germany, Canada and the US, Colombo announced his retirement from singing in 2020, a year after his marriage to Rispoli, whose first husband was killed on an Italian beach holiday in 2012.
Colombo’s latest song, Ti aspetto all’Altare (I’m waiting for you at the altar), has garnered nearly 60m views on YouTube.
Neomelodica music, born in the 1980s as a response to societal changes, and the struggles of the traditional Neapolitan song genre canzone napoletana, has frequently been described as Italy’s equivalent of gangster rap.
This is not the first time that a neomelodico singer has been arrested under accusations of mafia ties. Often, the stars are relatives of mob bosses, or their careers are financed by mobsters.
In addition to accusations of mafia affiliation and extortion, those arrested on Tuesday are suspected of rigging auctions and smuggling tobacco. The Italian police highlighted the new “entrepreneurial” activities of the Di Lauro clan, whose leader was arrested in 2019 after 14 years on the run.
They have largely relinquished their arms after a lengthy and violent war for control of the drug trade. Instead, they have allegedly been focusing on fixing auctions, resorting to violence to intimidate other bidders and drive down property prices before selling the assets for a significant profit.
Additionally, the clan acquired sports and betting halls and supermarkets, smuggling cigarettes from Bulgaria and Ukraine, often using intermediaries.
The police reported seizing assets worth nearly €8m (£7m) during the raids.
AFP contributed to this report
