Massimiliano Esposito has admitted in court that he ordered the killing of Antonio Ivone, while telling judges that Ivone was not the man the gunmen had meant to kill.
The admission was reported on 5 October 2026 during the first-degree trial concerning Ivone's murder. According to the courtroom account, Esposito said he was the mandante — the person who ordered the ambush — but said the intended target was rival Rodolfo Zinco. Esposito reportedly said he ordered the shooting to go ahead after learning that Ivone was present.
Luigi Bitonto also reportedly admitted involvement after Esposito's statement. The prosecution describes Bitonto as a lookout who helped the attackers approach their victim.
The reported admissions remain part of an ongoing trial. The exact sequence of events and the individual roles of all alleged participants are matters for the court to establish, and the court has not yet issued a final judgment on the case.
The killing in Rione Traiano
Antonio Ivone was killed on 29 August 2000 in Rione Traiano, Naples, in a Camorra-style ambush.
Investigators said he was shot at close range with multiple gunshots while he was outside a bar. The 2000 killing remained under investigation for years before homicide measures were issued as part of a broader 2024 police operation.
A conflict over Bagnoli and the Phlegraean area
Investigators placed the homicide within a conflict among criminal groups over control of illicit activities in Bagnoli and the wider Phlegraean area.
Police linked the case to tensions between the D'Ausilio clan and rival groups. Later reporting on the 2024 operation described Esposito as accused of ordering the ambush against Ivone in that context of competition for criminal control.
The 2024 operation also covered alleged drug trafficking and abusive parking management, alongside the separate homicide investigation into Ivone's killing. In that homicide investigation, two suspects were considered responsible, with the case treated as aggravated by the mafia method.
What the court still has to decide
The account of the intended target comes from the reported courtroom statements and has not been independently corroborated by a second source. In particular, police and national news agency accounts describe the broader criminal conflict but do not independently confirm the claim that Rodolfo Zinco was the intended target.
It is also not yet established whether the reported admissions will be accepted in full by the court or how they will affect the final verdict.
The 2024 arrests and homicide measures were precautionary proceedings during preliminary investigations. Under Italian procedure, the people concerned are legally presumed innocent unless convicted by a final judgment.
Why this hearing matters
First, if accepted by the court, Esposito's statement would resolve a central investigative question: who ordered an ambush that took place more than two decades ago.
Second, the claim that Ivone was not the intended victim introduces a different account of motive. Rather than a killing planned specifically against Ivone, the reported version describes a decision taken after Ivone was seen at the scene with the alleged intended target.
For readers following the case, the next relevant step will be the court's own findings on credibility, individual roles and criminal responsibility, rather than the courtroom statements alone.
