Actor who played wannabe gangster in Cannes prize-winning mob movie 'is arrested for posing as police officer in nationwide organised crime scam'

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An actor who played a wannabe gangster in a Cannes prize-winning movie has been accused of posing as a police officer as part of a nationwide scam to fleece the elderly.

Marco Macor allegedly stole more than €700,000 (£585,000) while taking part among 29 people masquerading as officers or lawyers to cheat people out of their savings and jewellery.

The 39-year-old, known for his role as Marco in the 2008 film Gomorrah, was arrested along with the rest of the Neapolitan gang by Genoa police at the weekend.

The group are alleged to have used operators to phone victims an inform them that one of their family members had been involved in an accident and urgently required funds to avoid arrest.

Many of the elderly victims were distraught after receiving the calls, the provincial commander of the Genova Carabinieri police said.

Col Alessandro Magro told the Telegraph: ‘They had a sense of guilt if they didn’t help their relatives. Under Italian law, there is nothing that requires you to pay a deposit to avoid arrest or being charged.’

Gomorrah was inspired by the Roberto Saviano’s novel of the same name, which provides an account of the criminal activities of the Camorra in Naples’s Campania region.

The film won a Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival before later being turned into a TV series.

Marco Macor (left) allegedly stole more than ¿700,000 (£585,000) as oart of a group of 29 people masqueradeding as officers or lawyers to cheat people out of savings and jewellery

Marco Macor (left) allegedly stole more than €700,000 (£585,000) as oart of a group of 29 people masqueradeding as officers or lawyers to cheat people out of savings and jewellery

In one scene in the 2008 film Gomorrah, Marco (left) and his friends are shown shooting machine guns on an empty beach

In one scene in the 2008 film Gomorrah, Marco (left) and his friends are shown shooting machine guns on an empty beach

Mr Macor’s character Marco and his friend Ciro are aspiring gangsters who start a racket to compete with a mafia clan just outside of Naples.

Throughout the film, they quote lines and recreate scenes from classic films such as Scarface throughout. In one scene, Marco and his friends are shown shooting machine guns on an empty beach.

Mr Macor, who used the nickname ‘Caff’ according to police, told interviewers at the time of the film’s release that he did not know anyone involved in the Camorra and was committed to building his acting career.

But he is now accused of being heavily involved in a criminal organisation said to be run by his brother Alberto and partner Marica Mastroianni.

It is believed the gang attempted around 50 scams between April 2022 and March 2024.

The actor is alleged to have travelled from Naples to other parts of Italy to collect money from victims and help organise the gang’s logistics,

This discovery is the latest example of ‘the curse of Gomorrah’ – a term coined by the Italian media for the list of actors and extras from the film who were later found to be linked to the mafia and sentenced for murder, drug trafficking and other crimes.

This included Bernardino Terracciano, who played a crime boss in the film, after he received a life sentence in 2016 for a double murder.