Mobster’s niece shot dead in nightclub

Death of 19-year-old woman at Italian tourist resort believed to be part of feud with rival gang

A young woman was shot dead in a nightclub as part of a suspected bloody mafia feud in a popular Italian tourist destination.
Antonia Lopez, 19, the niece of a murdered mobster, was shot at the Bahia Beach nightclub in the historic town of Molfetta in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Lopez’s killing is believed to have been the result of a furious argument or a settling of scores between rival clans involved in drug trafficking, extortion and other crimes in Puglia.
On Monday, Michele Lavopa, a 21-year-old suspect, was arrested by the Carabinieri and remanded in custody.
While Lopez is believed to have had no criminal record herself, she was connected to one of the region’s leading crime families.
One of her uncles, Ivan Lopez, was murdered three years ago, shot dead near his house in the nearby port of Bari while riding a scooter.
Another uncle, Francesco Lopez, became a “pentito” or turncoat, co-operating with police and investigators.
The Lopez brothers are members of the Strisciuglio clan, who are at war with the rival Parisi-Palermiti clan.
Four other people in their 20s were injured in the shooting, including Eugenio Palermiti, an alleged member of the Palermiti clan.
His father is serving a life sentence in prison for murder and grievous bodily harm, while his grandfather is said to be the long-time head of the gang.
The authorities now fear there could be an escalation in the conflict, with vengeance being sought for Lopez’s murder.
A specialist anti-mafia unit is investigating the killing.
Michele Emiliano, the governor of Puglia, said: “This is the umpteenth clash between criminal gangs who are fighting to control nightclubs and drug dealing.”
Michele Picaro, an MEP from the region, said: “We’ve reached the point where people’s safety is being put seriously at risk, even in places of entertainment and leisure. Our cities must not fall into the hands of criminal bands.”
Mafia gangs in Puglia once made their money from smuggling cigarettes from Albania, which lies just across the Adriatic. Nowadays they have switched their focus to drugs, investing the proceeds in legitimate businesses across the region.
The clans in Puglia are less well known than their more famous counterparts in southern Italy such as Cosa Nostra in Sicily and the Ndrangheta in Calabria.