Top Italian Assassin Reported to Have Been Trained in Bulgaria

Italian Elio Amato (C) pictured during his arrest by Italian police on 11 July 2010 in Naples, southern Italy. Amato was on the country's list of 100 most dangerous wanted criminals. Photo by EPA/BGNES

The nephew of Elio Amato, an Italian mafia boss, is reported to have undergone training at a paramilitary camp in Bulgaria.

The 38-year-old Amato, who is in Italy's list of the 100 most wanted criminals, was arrested by the police on Sunday.

He is suspected of having participated in drug trafficking activities as the leader of the Amato-Pagano clan, which broke off from the Neapolitan mafia, the Camora.

Amato's 25-year-old nephew Marco Liguori, who was the best assassin in the clan, has also been arrested.

According to the websites of three Italian papers – Corriere della Sera, Virgilio, and Matino – Liguori was believed to be one of the most dangerous paid assassins, and he was captured eventually only thanks to the cooperation between the Italian police and the Bulgarian intelligence services.

This was possible the Italian police discovered that Liguari went through a paramilitary training in Bulgaria at training grounds where he practiced shooting with high-precision weapons.

A Bulgarian engineer, who name has not been revealed, is reported by Italian TV channel Sky to have provided for the security of Elio Amato and Marco Liguori.

The engineer is said to have helped Liguori get in touch with people in Bulgaria who provided the young assassin with the high-precision weapons training.

Last Thursday the Italian police also arrested Cesare Pagano, another leading figure in the Amato-Pagano clan, as well as Elio Amato's brother Rafaele Pagano.

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