Maria Licciardi

Maria Licciardi
Police mugshot of Maria Licciardi, taken after her arrest on June 14, 2001
Born	(1951-03-24) March 24, 1951 (age 66) Secondigliano, Naples, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Other names	"La Madrina" (The Godmother) "La Piccolina" (The Little Girl)
Occupation	Head of the Licciardi Clan
Criminal charge	Murder, drug trafficking, extortion
Criminal status	Incarcerated

Maria Licciardi (born March 24, 1951 in Secondigliano) is an Italian criminal affiliated with the Camorra and former head of the Licciardi clan, based in the Secondigliano quarters in the north of Naples. She was the undisputed boss of the Camorra in the city of Naples from 1993 until her arrest in 2001.

Licciardi was referred to as "La Madrina" (The Godmother) by fellow Camorristi and earned the nickname "La Piccolina" (The Little Girl) early on in her criminal career, due to her diminutive height. Among Camorra women she is known respectfully as "La principessa" (The princess), due to her good standing.

Licciardi was born and raised in the Neapolitan suburb of Secondigliano, a traditional stronghold of the Licciardi clan, where a local parish priest once reportedly said that the "people have the culture of the Camorra in their bones." Her entire family belonged to the Camorra. Her father was a well known guappo or local boss. One of her brothers, Gennaro Licciardi known as "'a Scigna" (The Monkey) was a very powerful guappo, who later became the head of the clan and a founding member of the Secondigliano Alliance (Italian: Alleanza di Secondigliano), a coalition of powerful Camorra clans which controlled drug trafficking and the extortion rackets in many suburbs of Naples. Gennaro died from blood poisoning while in the Voghera prison on August 3, 1994. Her husband, Antonio Teghemié was also a Camorrista.

Licciardi rose to power and took over as head of the clan, after her two brothers, Pietro and Vincenzo, and her husband were arrested. She was the first female Camorrista to become the boss of the Licciardi clan, and take over as head of the Secondigliano Alliance. The death of Gennaro Licciardi caused some disruption in the local underworld, as well as several bloody attempts to seize control, but the clan was kept in stable condition by Maria. She brought together a fragile informal coalition of twenty Camorra clans in order to expand control of the city's most lucrative rackets, from drugs and cigarette smuggling to protection and prostitution. She also played a key role in expanding the city's drug trade market. Under her leadership, the Secondigliano Alliance become more organized, secretive, sophisticated and consequently more powerful.