Castellammare di Stabia, municipality dissolved for second time in four years
The Council of Ministers has decided to dissolve the town council for mafia infiltrations. It is the second case in just a few years, following the one that occurred in 2021.
Castellammare di Stabia, municipality dissolved for second time in four years
The Council of Ministers on 14 July 2026 decided to dissolve the municipal council of Castellammare di Stabia due to mafia-type infiltrations. It is the second time in just four years that the local authority has been placed under special administration for the same reason.
The measure immediately sparked heated political debate. Former mayor Luigi Vicinanza held a press conference to defend his work and to level strong criticism at the Democratic Party and in particular at senator Sandro Ruotolo, his former friend and journalistic colleague. According to Vicinanza, his administration was "the victim of an internal political clash within the Democratic Party" and the pressures of organised crime were not adequately countered because of divisions within the governing coalition.
Vicinanza stressed that he had been "called upon to unite" a political situation that already existed, asserting that the civic lists under scrutiny had been created by Democratic Party regional councillors and not by him. He also recalled the actions taken against the clans, including urban regeneration and the return to the community of three confiscated properties, including the residence of the clan boss converted into a youth centre.
Ruotolo, elected as a Democratic Party municipal councillor in 2024 as a guarantor of legality, replied by expressing "sadness" at the government's decision. The senator explained that he had chosen to resign on 2 January because he believed the administration no longer represented a sufficient bulwark against camorra pressures. Ruotolo emphasised how organised crime "does not pay attention to political colours", citing the previous dissolution that occurred under a centre-right administration.
The official reasons for the dissolution have not yet been made public, but it is presumed that they refer to the relations that existed between municipal councillors from civic lists and representatives of the d'Alessandro clan, as well as the presence of individuals with criminal records on stage during a public celebration for Juve Stabia's playoff matches.
Source: Il Fatto Quotidiano
Source: Il Fatto Quotidiano - Cronaca