Father of Mafia turncoat gunned down

Unidentified gunmen shot dead the father of an ex mafia boss who has been helping authorities crack down on his former partners, police said yesterday.

Umberto Bidgonetti, 69, was killed in a hail of bullets early yesterday as he headed to work at a factory in the town of Castel Volturno north of Naples, police said.

His son, Domenico, has been cooperating with police in their probes into the Casalesi clan of the Camorra - the Neapolitan version of the Mafia - that he had belonged to.

"It represents a sign of regrouping by the organisation aimed at those jailed and those on the run to say: We are here and we still in control the Casalesi clan," Naples prosecutor Franco Roberti was quoted as saying by the Ansa news agency.

"The homicide is also an effort to dissuade those who would like to take the road of collaborating with the authorities."

Local news agencies said Mr Bidognetti had refused police protection given to relatives of Mafia turncoats, and had continued to live in an area known as a Mafia stronghold.