Pasquale Barra

When Cutolo set up the NCO at their hometown on October 24, 1970, Barra became his second in command and immediately took charge of reinforcing all intimidation, extortion and racketeering activities within their territory.

He became a full-time killer for the organization, favoring the use of knives and butchery tools over guns and automatic weapons to carry out his hits.

[1] During the period between 1976 and 1983, when the NCO had total control over Ottaviano and the Neapolitan hinterland, Barra ruled this town of 200,000 inhabitants as his own personal fiefdom, ruling on every aspect of the town's activities, from illegal businesses such as prostitution, gambling and extortion to more respectable businesses.

When Barra's younger brother was shot in the knee-caps by a rival gang, they were able to find him a job inside City Hall, after having provided him with a governmental pension for an alleged permanent infirmity.

On the contrary, he established himself as the second in command of the organizational executive board inside the cielo scoperto (i.e., the prison penitentiary system).

It was during this time that the media started calling him "the killer of the prisons", and he acquired the nickname 'o Nimale ("the Animal"), due to the utmost cruelty and pitiless way in which he killed his enemies.

[1] He pursued his newly appointed mission with a fervent religious zeal and he became almost suicidal in his attempts to eliminate his adversaries.

He once wrote to Marco Medda, an NCO board executive: "Brother, I beg you to give a kiss to our Prince (Cutolo).

[1] In another letter to Cutolo's sister, Rosetta, he used even stronger words while describing about his project: "My dearest comare, regarding this crawling vermin (the traitors), be confident.

Now tell me how these people think that they can survive, and anyway I am waiting to cross the paths of some of these conspirators, because I want to show them how much Alias is worth.

"[1] In just a couple of years, Barra had amassed an impressive list of killings, the most famous of which were the three deadly assaults that occurred during the 1980 Irpinia earthquake.

In order to avoid panic and a greater disaster, the prisoners were allowed to go to the jail courtyard presumed to be safer from collapsing buildings.

On August 17, 1981, under Cutolo's orders Barra organized an ambush to kill Milanese crime boss and Cosa Nostra associate, Francis Turatello aka "Faccia D'Angelo" (Angel Face) in the courtyard of Badu 'e Carros, the high security prison in Nuoro, Sardinia.

Barra was assisted in the murder by three well known assassins, Salvatore Maltese, Antonino Faro and Vincenzo Andraous.

Barra was not only left alone to fend off the reprisals of the Sicilians, but now he also had to watch out against violent attacks from the other NCO members.

He avoided contact with everyone and chose to prepare his own tea and coffee, while carrying a knife carefully hidden in his anus at all times.