By LEON WATSON

Published: February 13, 2009
A TRANSVESTITE Mafia boss has been arrested by cops in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in the world.

Ugo Gabriele, 27, who insisted on being called KITTY, was held by armed officers in a raid which also saw 27 other mobsters arrested.

Cross-dressing Gabriele, who had long blonde hair, ran a sophisticated drugs and prostitution racket in Naples, Italy, and his clan had dozens of members.

His mugshot showed him as thick set and butch looking – but he also had very defined PLUCKED EYEBROWS and was wearing LIPSTICK.

The southern Italian port city is a popular destination for British holidaymakers en route to Sorrento.

But it is also home to the local Mafia, known as the Camorra.

A police spokesman in Naples said: "We have been on Kitty’s trail for several months and it is the first time that we have ever arrested a transsexual Mob boss.

"We think it is also probably the first case of its kind in the world.

"He was born Ugo Gabriele but told everyone to call him Kitty - he is very burly but at the same time you can tell he is trying to be a woman.

"He was a key figure in the Camorra and ran a drugs and prostitution racket out by the airport.

"We had tried to arrest him earlier this week but he escaped. But thanks to good police work we found him and arrested 27 other Camorra members."

Traditionally the Mafia has been a haven of machismo although there have been gay mobsters in the past most famously John "Johnny Boy" D’Amato who was gunned down in New York in 1992 for being homosexual.


At his murder trial Mafia hit man Anthony Capo, a former soldier for the New Jersey-based DeCavalcante family testified that he killed D’Amato after finding out about his secret life.

He said: "Nobody’s gonna respect us if we have a gay homosexual boss sitting down discussing La Cosa Nostra business."

Luigi Romolo Carrino, a top Mafia author, based in Italy, said: "There is a lot more homosexual activity in the Mob than you think but it is very discreet.

! Interesting story…”Pussy whipped”

Its great many of these criminals are being arrested in Italy. Naples is truly a great city and a fantastic area to visit with its most charming people. Although, it is sad the South has to put up with this over exaggerated stereotype image and exploitation by the media.