ability to evade capture, Dickie suggests, was due to the protection and support of the picciotteria network. Moreover, some of Musolino's actions - including his original conflict with Zoccali - appear to have been rooted less in personal vengeance than in the internal politics of the picciotteria.

In early 1901, police officer Vincenzo Mangione was dispatched to Santo Stefano to implement a more effective strategy than the futile efforts of chasing Musolino through the mountains and bribing informants for leads. Mangione produced a