A person caressing a sleeping pet.

Someone who justifies a wrong done to him, or wants to.

Who is thankful for Stevenson’s existence.

Who would rather that others be right.

Such people, without knowing it, are saving the world.

Epilogue

Self-Portrait of a Boss

‘There’s treasure buried beneath the ground in Scampia. A treasure-trove of precious stones: emeralds, topazes, rubies, lapis lazuli. And diamonds. Diamonds in particular. They put all the stones in Coke bottles, the plastic kind, big ones and little ones. I’m telling the truth; I’m not talking crazy.’

I don’t bat an eye at this revelation. Then I ask the boss: ‘And where is this treasure hidden? Where exactly?’

‘If I knew, I would tell the magistrates. But you have to look for it: it’s there, in some hole that’s been dug somewhere, in places scattered around, here and there. Because I saw them with my own eyes, the Di Lauro guys: they would go to their place on Via Cupa dell’Arco, then return with the stones. Some so big they wouldn’t fit in the neck of the bottle. You could pave the Naples–Rome autostrada with Paolo Di Lauro’s diamonds …’

Speaking with me is Maurizio Prestieri, Camorra boss of Rione Monterosa, a district in Secondigliano. One of the bosses of the board that used to govern the Secondigliano Alliance.

‘Italian drug traffickers now buy mainly precious stones to launder money. They have a value that never depreciates. In fact, their value increases continuously, you can hide them easily, and for liquidity you have no problem selling them anywhere in the world. Houses, cars, villas, those can be seized. Bills can be hidden in hollow walls, but after a while they get moldy and deteriorate. But diamonds … it’s like the ad said, they’re forever.’