A major problem in Italy is the absence and inefficiency of the state. One of the strongest power bases of the camorra is its capacity to control housing. Clans simply take over buildings- entire neighbourhoods, decide who can rent, exact payment and supply security. Entire zones in and around Naples are run by clans, that is they supply all services. Authorities simply cannot apply the law. If the city assigns a flat to someone after a long bureaucratic process, that person will have to deal with the camorra then to actually take possession of the flat- at the clan's conditions. If the person decides to assert his lawful right, he's likely to be killed in the worst case scenario.

The illegal immigrants, especially the Rom, rely on the camorra for "protection" or "private ordering." They are used as a sub-proletariat work force. They are used for illegal dumping or any "job" that is highly dangerous for their health so long as they are guaranteed to be left alone.

Whether camps are authorized or illegal makes little difference. It's organized crime that keeps order in both cases. And organized crime could just as well be behind some of the arson attacks against the Rom. There is nothing contradictory in this behaviour for the camorra's prime interest is to assert and advantage its authority by any means.

The recent attacks against the Rom have been favoured by the zeitgeist blown in by the far right win. Paradoxically, it is a leghista the minister of the Interior who must do something to put out the fire they stocked with their irresponsible rhetoric.  

A good study on the problem of private ordering and organized crime isThe Dark Side of Private Ordering: An Institutional and Empirical Analysis of Organized Crime by Milhaupt and West.