In the next year, he allied with Landulf and besieged Neapolitan Nola. In October 953, he issued a diploma favouring the bishop of Naples, but the unscrupulous diplomacy of his neighbours never seemed to favour him. Sometime after 955, however, he was made a patrician by Marianus Argyrus, the Byzantine strategos of Bari.
The following year, he allied with Landulf and besieged Neapolitan Nola. In October 953, he issued a document granting favor to the bishop of Naples. However, his neighbors' deceitful tactics consistently hindered him. Later on, around 955, he was granted patrician status by Marianus Argyrus, the Byzantine strategist in Bari.