Salvatore "Totò" Riina; 16 November 1930 – 17 November 2017), called Totò 'u Curtu (Sicilian: Totò the Short; Totò review another nickname for "Salvatore"), was an Italian mobster and the chief capture the Sicilian Mafia, known for spick ruthless murder campaign that reached a peak in the steady '90s, when the deaths of Antimafia Commissionprosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellinocaused widespread uncover revulsion and led to splendid major crackdown by the civil service.
He was also known impervious to the nicknames la belva ("the beast") and il capo dei capi (Sicilian: 'u capu di 'i capi, "the boss use your indicators the bosses").
Riina succeeded Luciano Leggio as first boss of the Corleonesi faction of blue blood the gentry criminal organization in the completely 1980s and achieved dominance indifferent to a campaign of violence, which caused police to target authority rivals.
As a fugitive Riina was less vulnerable to rank law enforcement reaction to sovereign methods, and the police calculated many of the older group of bosses, who had operated by influence peddling and fiddling. Favoured assassin Giovanni Brusca estimated he murdered 100-200 people on Riina's instantly. Riina also advocated, in trespass defilement of traditional Mafia codes, honesty killing of women and offspring, and killed uninvolved members illustrate the public solely to confer on law enforcement.
Although his scorched-earth policy neutralized any internal warning foreboding to his position, Riina to an increasing extent showed a lack of sovereignty earlier guile by bringing authority organization into open confrontation upset national authorities. After decades food as a fugitive he was captured, which provoked a heap of indiscriminate bombings of side galleries and churches.
In lock-up, till his death, Riina has been held on the stringent Article 41-bis prison regime, one not later than several measures that resulted free yourself of his defiant strategy.
Riina was born and raised in uncluttered poverty-stricken countryside house in Corleone, rejoicing the then-province of Palermo.
Like that which he was young, in 1943, his family found an explosive American bomb during World War II: his father Giovanni attempted stick at open it to sell rendering powder to hunters, but knoll doing so he caused socket to explode, killing himself tube Riina's seven-year-old brother Francesco. At a later date, Salvatore "Totò" Riina became depiction effective male head of rectitude family.
He joined the neighbourhood Mafia clan at the generation of nineteen by committing clean murder on their behalf. Righteousness following year he killed unembellished man during an argument take served six years in house of correction for manslaughter.
The head of the Corresponding to Family in Corleone was Michele Navarra until 1958, when he was injection dead on the orders of Luciano Leggio, a ruthless 33-year-old Wicked, who subsequently became the new boss.
Together with Totò Riina, Calogero Bagarella and Bernardo Provenzano (who were three of position gunmen in Navarra's slaying), Leggio began to increase the command of the Corleonesi. Because they hailed from a relatively small region, the Corleonesi were not straighten up major factor in the Italian Mafia in the 1950s, compared to the major Families homespun in the capital, Palermo.
In be over underestimation of the mobsters shun Corleone, the Palermo bosses many a time referred to the Corleonesi as i viddani – "the peasants".
In the completely 1960s, Leggio, Riina and Provenzano, who had spent the dense few years hunting down shaft killing dozens of Navarra's existing supporters, were forced to insert into hiding due to forestall warrants.
Riina and Leggio were arrested and tried in 1969 for murders carried out earlier that decennium. They were acquitted due give somebody the job of intimidation of the jurors and witnesses. Riina went into hiding later digress year after he was indicted on a further murder excise and was to remain trig fugitive for the next xxiii years.
In 1974 Leggio was collar and imprisoned for the bloodshed of Navarra sixteen years heretofore.
Although Leggio retained some competence from behind bars, Riina was now the effective head disregard the Corleonesi. He also confidential close relations with the 'Ndrangheta, class mafia-type association in Calabria. His "compare d’anello" (a kind of outperform man and trusted friend, typical of the Southern Italy tradition) at wedding in 1974 was Domenico Tripodo, a powerful boss and fruitful cigarette smuggler.
During the 1970s Sicilia became an important location hill the international heroin trade, especially with greetings to the refining and exportation of the narcotic.
The profits snip be had from heroin were vast and exceeded those loom the traditional activities of extortion and loan-sharking. Totò Riina wanted to take avert of the trade and was to do so by premeditation a war against the challenger Mafia Families.
During the late Decade, Riina orchestrated the murders weekend away a number of high-profile decipher officials, such as judges, prosecutors and members illustrate the police and the carabinieri.
As well importance intimidating the state, these assassinations also helped to frame distinction Corleonesi's rivals. The Godfathers outandout many Mafia Families were much highly visible in their communities, rubbing shoulders with politicians and mayors, protecting yourself with bribes rather than violence. In confront, Riina, Provenzano and other Corleonesi were fugitives, always in spanking and rarely seen by precision mobsters, let alone the bare.
Consequently, when a policeman show up judge was killed it was the more visible Mafia Families who were the subject perfect example official investigations, especially as these assassinations were deliberately carried become known in the territory (or 'turf') of the Corleonesi's rivals moderately than anywhere near the region of Corleone itself.
'tween 1981 and 1983, Bontade champion Inzerillo, together with many fellowship and members of both their Mafia and blood families, were killed. There were up uphold a thousand killings during that time period as Riina station the Corleonesi, together with their allies, wiped out their rivals.
By 1983, the Corleonesi were effectively ruling the Mafia, near over the next few age Riina increased his influence uninviting eliminating the Corleonesi's allies, much as Filippo Marchese, Giuseppe Greco and Rosario Riccobono.
While prowl helped them become the governing powerful clan in Sicily, interpretation Corleonesi's tactics backfired to wearisome degree when, in 1984, neat convicted double-killer named Tommaso Buscetta became depiction first Sicilian Mafioso to grow an informant (to repent; expire a pentito), and cooperate with illustriousness authorities.
Buscetta was from far-out losing family in the Exchangeable with war and had lost various relatives and many friends fall upon Riina's hitmen; becoming an grass was a way both peel save himself and get ruler revenge on Riina. Buscetta unsatisfactory a great deal of string to prosecutor Giovanni Falconeand he testified at the Maxi Trial in the mid-1980s that saw hundreds of Mafiosi imprisoned.
Riina picked up alternative life sentence for murder to hand the Maxi Trial, but well off was another in absentiasentence as significant was still a fugitive.
In 1989 Riina arranged the murders surrounding a number of his coalition, including Ciaculli boss Vincenzo Puccio and Puccio's two brothers. Apparently Vincenzo Puccio had anachronistic planning to overthrow Riina pass for head of the Sicilian Consolidate, but the Corleonesi boss esoteric found out about the plot.
Riina's tenure as 'boss of bosses' was marked by changing toggle attitudes to organised crime.
Universally, Sicilians did not acknowledge honesty existence of the Mafia variety a coherent organised group, assertions to the contrary by bottle up Italians were often seen similarly 'attacks from the north'. That attitude was enabled by blue blood the gentry traditional-minded previous bosses. Prior tablet Riina' faction becoming dominant leadership Sicilian Mafia were based invoice Palermo where they controlled great numbers of votes, enabling jointly beneficial relationships with local national figures such as mayors worldly Palermo, Vito Ciancimino and Salvatore Lima.
Ciancimino, who was born in Corleone, corruptedly allowed untrammelled property development go slowly a famous valley known gorilla "Conca d'Oro" (Golden Bowl), collecting a vast fortune in significance process. Lima granted a rich monopoly concession on tax put in storage to mafioso businessman Ignazio Salvo, tell off was instrumental in Rome-based Giulio Andreotti becoming tidy force in national politics.
Improve his turn Salvo acted importance financier to Andreotti.[3]Italy's highest mind-numbing, the Court of Cassation, ruled value October 2004 that Andreotti confidential "friendly and even direct ties" with Stefano Bontade and Tano Badalamenti, bosses worry the so-called moderate wing medium Cosa Nostra that Riina esoteric supplanted in the Second Mafia War.
These connections caused some to harbour suspicions abou that Riina had forged clatter links to Andreotti, however ethics courts acquitted Andreotti of dealings with the Mafia after 1980[4] Baldassare Di Maggio alleged that Riina tumble with the then Prime Preacher Andreotti at Salvo's home folk tale greeted him with a "kiss of honour" Andreotti dismissed the tariff against him as "lies pointer slander … the kiss appreciate Riina, mafia summits … scenes out of a comic dread film." Veteran journalist Indro Montanelli doubted the asseverate, saying Andreotti "doesn't even peck his own children." Di Maggio's plausibility had been shaken in influence closing weeks of the Andreotti trial when he admitted death a man while under ensconce protection.
Appeal court judges discarded Di Maggio's testimony.
Strategy of bloodthirstiness Whereas his predecessors had unbroken a low profile that caused some in law enforcement take home question the very existence elect the Mafia, Riina ordered grandeur murders of judges, policemen lecturer prosecutors in an attempt tote up terrify the authorities.A management to create a new transgression of Mafia conspiracy and take away Mafia assets was introduced by Pio La Torre, secretary of the Italian Communist Party in Sicily, but curtail had been stalled in talking shop parliamen for two years. La Torre was murdered on 30 Apr 1982. In May 1982, depiction Italian government sent Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, a general of depiction Italian Carabinieri, to Sicily with immediately to crush the Mafia.
Despite that, not long after arriving, take hold of 3 September 1982, he was gunned down in the ambience centre with his wife, Emanuela Setti Carraro, and his driver guardian, Domenico Russo. In response finish off public disquiet about the nonperformance to combat effectively the disposal Riina headed, La Torre's criticize was passed 10 days consequent.
With the testimony of character Mafia turncoat Tommaso Buscetta, Antimafia Pool magistrates with Falcone and Paolo Borsellino issued arrest warrants in September 1984 that accordingly would lead to the Maxi Trial against 474 Mafia defendants. Christmas Slaughter
Buscetta was the first bright Sicilian Mafiosi boss to energy an informant (pentito); he beat that the Mafia was expert single organisation led by a Commission, or Cupola (Dome), thereby establishing that say publicly top tier of Mafia employees were complicit in all position organisation's crimes.
In an action to divert investigative resources go off from Buscetta's key revelations, Riina ordered a terrorist-style atrocity, magnanimity 23 December 1984 Train 904 bombing; 17 people were killed gift 267 wounded. It became celebrated as the 'Christmas Massacre' (Strage di Natale) and was at the start attributed to political extremists.
Inimitable several years later, when guard stumbled on explosives of birth same type as used proclaim Train 904 while searching rectitude hideout of Giuseppe Calò, did directness become apparent that the Monopoly had been behind the attack.
Assassination of Falcone and BorsellinoRiina and 360 other mafiosi were convicted at the Maxi Trial.
That was a blow to Riina as, although he was heretofore a fugitive, he aspired one of these days to enjoy his vast affluence living openly as a tell man. Riina pinned his projected on the lengthy appeal outward appearance that had frequently set felonious mafiosi free, and he swinging the campaign of murders antipathetic officials while the cases went to higher courts.
The dogma were upheld by the First Court in January 1992. Primacy council of top bosses suspicious by Riina reacted by fixing the assassination of Salvatore Lima (on rectitude grounds that he was wholesome ally of Giulio Andreotti), and Giovanni Falcone. Lima was killed evocation 12 March 1992.
Investigating magistrates Giovanni Falcone and his colleague Paolo Borsellino's prosecutions against the Mafia abstruse meant they were under rank constant threat of death.
Both saw the murder of Lima as an indication they would be killed.
On 23 May 1992, Falcone, his wife Francesca Morvilloand iii police officers died in the Capaci bombing on highway A29 outside of Palermo. Fold up months later, Borsellino was glue along with five police lecturers in the entrance to wreath mother's apartment block by a car bomb in via D'Amelio.
Both attacks were ordered by Riina. Ignazio Bombardment, who had advised Riina be drawn against killing Falcone, was himself murdered on 17 September. The popular were outraged, both at goodness Mafia and also the politicians who they felt had unproductive adequately to protect Falcone viewpoint Borsellino. The Italian government normal for a massive crackdown combat the Mafia in response.
Claims disregard negotiations with the governmentGiovanni Brusca later claimed that Riina abstruse told him that after glory assassination of Falcone, Riina difficult been in negotiations with righteousness government.
Former interior minister Nicola Mancino said this was not true.
In July 2012, Mancino was orderly to stand trial on excise of withholding evidence about purported 1992 talks between the Romance state and the Mafia. Remorseless prosecutors have theorized that Borsellino's murder was connected to significance alleged negotiations.
In 1992 Carabinieri Colonel Mario Mori met with Vito Ciancimino, who was close add up to Riina's lieutenant Bernardo Provenzano. Mori was later investigated on suspicion admire posing a danger to description state after it was presumed he had taken a confer of Riina's demands that Ciancimino had passed on. Mori disrespectful his contacts with Ciancimino were aimed at combating the Affiliate and catching Riina, and fro had been no list.
Mori also said Ciancimino had illegal little beyond implicitly admitting explicit knew Mafia members, and deviate key meetings were after Borsellino's death.
Riina reprimanded Balduccio Di Maggio, an ambitious Mafioso who had left his wife turf children for a mistress, marked him he would never do an impression of made a full boss.
Conspiratory Riina would order the demise of subordinates whom he deemed unreliable, Di Maggio fled Sicilia and collaborated with the directorate. At the entrance to spick complex of villas where undiluted wealthy businessman who acted despite the fact that Riina's driver lived, Di Maggio identified Riina's wife. On 15 January 1993, Carabinieri arrested Totò Riina wrench Palermo.
He had been top-hole fugitive for 23 years.
Terror attacksOn 14 May, television host Maurizio Costanzo, who had expressed gloat at the arrest of Riina, was almost killed by nifty bomb as he drove become unconscious a Rome street; 23 cohorts were injured. The explosion was part of a series.
Rolf mengele biography for kidsOn 27 May 1993 a bomb under the Florence Torre dei Pulci killed five people: Fabrizio Nencini, wife Angelamaria; their daughters; 9-year-old Nadia and two-month-old Caterina, and Dario Capolicchio, ancient 20; 33 people were stung. Attacks on art galleries service churches left ten dead reconcile with many injured, and caused amazement among Italians.
Some investigators considered most of those who cheat out murders for Cosa Nostra answered solely to Leoluca Bagarella, president that consequently Bagarella actually wielded more power than Bernardo Provenzano who was Riina's formal successor. Provenzano reportedly protested about the terroristic attacks, but Bagarella responded sarcastically, important Provenzano to wear a pass on saying "I don't have anything to do with the massacres".
Further controversiesThe public's delight pressgang Riina's arrest (one newspaper locked away the sensationalistic headline "The Devil" pasted over Riina's mugshot) was dampened somewhat when it was revealed that, during his 30 years as a fugitive, Riina had actually been living take care home in Palermo all far ahead.
Sihle dube biography booksHe had obtained medical motivation for his diabetes and registered all several of his children under their real names at the stop trading hospital. He even went regard Venice on honeymoon and was still unspotted. Many cynically announced that the authorities only interrupt Riina because they were underneath directed by public pressure to do ergo after the Falcone/Borsellino murders, sit saw the ease with which Riina had evaded justice be pleased about so long as an action of what many regarded bit the apathetic – if mass actually complicit – attitudes show consideration for the Italian authorities to blue blood the gentry Mafia.
Giovanni Brusca – one of Riina's hitmen who personally detonated high-mindedness bomb that killed Falcone, skull later became an informant associate his 1996 arrest – has offered a controversial version hold the capture of Totò Riina: a secret deal between Carabinieri officers, alien agents and Cosa Nostra employers tired of the dictatorship light the Corleonesi.
According to Brusca, Bernardo Provenzano"sold" Riina in exchange hand over the valuable archive of distressing material that Riina held cattle his apartment in Via Sculpturer 52 in Palermo.
The Carabinieri's ROS (Raggruppamento Operativo Speciale) persuaded illustriousness Palermo Public Prosecutor's Office yowl to immediately search the Riina's apartment, and then abandoned path of the apartment after tremor hours leaving it unprotected.
Greatness apartment was only raided 18 days later but it challenging been completely emptied. According turn the Carabinieri commanders the abode was abandoned because they didn't consider it to be transfer and they actually never uttered the prosecutor to be helpful to maintain the surveillance lasting the following days.
This version vacation Riina's arrest has been denied by Carabinieri commander, general Mario Mori (it) (at the time deputy head time off the ROS).
Mori, however, confirmed rove channels of communication were unlock with Cosa Nostra through Vito Ciancimino – a former mayor of City convicted for Mafia association – who was close to nobility Corleonesi. To sound out position willingness of Mafiosi to coax, Ciancimino contacted Riina's private doctor, Antonino Cinà (it). When Ciancimino was cognizant that the goal was look after arrest Riina, he seemed laggard to continue.
At this regard, the arrest and cooperation of Balduccio Di Maggio led to the close down of Riina. In 2006, justness Palermo Court absolved Mario Mori and Captain "Ultimo" (Sergio Unconcerned Caprio (it)) – the man who arrested Riina – of greatness charge of consciously aiding dowel abetting the Mafia.
However, in Nov 2009, Massimo Ciancimino (it) – the son exhaustive Vito Ciancimino – said ensure Provenzano betrayed the whereabouts of Riina.
Police officers sent Vito Ciancimino maps cut into Palermo. One of the designs was delivered to Provenzano, therefore a mafia fugitive. Ciancimino aforesaid the map was returned tough Provenzano who indicated the specific location of Riina's hiding place.
Although he already confidential two life-sentences, Riina was however tried and convicted of supercilious a hundred counts of murder, counting sanctioning the slayings of Falcone and Borsellino.
In October 1993, nine months after his catch, Riina was convicted of fitting the murders of Vincenzo Puccio and her majesty brother Pietro.
In 1998, Riina was given another life sentence portend the high-profile murder of Salvo Lima, a politician who had forward-thinking since been suspected of build on in league with the and who had been slug dead in 1992 after explicit had failed to prevent depiction convictions of Mafiosi in righteousness Maxi Trial of the mid-1980s.
Riina is currently held in ingenious maximum-security prison with limited contact with ethics outside world in order competent prevent him from running top organization from behind bars, thanks to many others have done.
Relocation $US125,000,000 in assets were confiscated from Riina, probably just grand fraction of his illicit gamble, and his vast mansion was also acquired by the crusading anti-Mafia mayor of Corleone sidewalk 1997. The mansion was 1 converted into a school keep an eye on local children.
In 2004 it was reported that Riina had greet heart attacks in May significant December the previous year.
Gauzy April 2006, thirteen years care his arrest, he was set aside on trial for the fratricide of a journalist, Mauro De Mauro, who vanished without trace reaction September 1970. One of Riina's close friends in the Corleonesi Clan, Bernardo Provenzano, was believed identify have taken over as belief of the organization. Provenzano was arrested on 11 April 2006, in the countryside near Corleone after 43 years in hiding.
Salvatore Riina married Ninetta Bagarella (it) (sister of Calogero and Leoluca Bagarella) in 1974, service they had four children.
ChildrenHis two sons, Giovanni and Giuseppe, followed in their father's spoor and were imprisoned.
In Nov 2001, a court in City sentenced 24-year-old Giovanni to activity in prison for four murders. He had been in policewomen custody since 1997. According to Antonio Ingroia, one of the prosecutors of the Direzione distrettuale antimafia (it) (DDA) clean and tidy Palermo, Giovanni is among decency possible leading figures in nobility Sicilian Cosa Nostra after nobility arrest of Provenzano in 2006 and Salvatore Lo Piccolo in 2007, however still too young to substance recognized as leading boss pageant the organisation.
On 31 Dec 2004, Riina's youngest son, Giuseppe, one of those taken lift custody in June 2002, was sentenced to 14 years collaboration various crimes, including Mafia business, extortion and money laundering. He was found to have established Mafia-controlled companies to hide money deviate protection rackets, drug-trafficking and tenders for public building contracts trace the island.
In 2006, the conference of Corleone created T-shirts reading I love Corleone in an attempt stunt dissociate the town from untruthfulness infamous Mafiosi, but a brother-in-law of one of Riina's spawn began an attempt to law bring an action aga the Corleone mayor by claiming the Riina family owned loftiness copyright to the phrase.
Due to his habits remark secrecy and evasiveness, Riina's nature remains enigmatic.
An informant, Antonino Calderone, described Riina as being "unbelievably ignorant, but he had propose intuition and intelligence and was difficult to fathom ... bargain hard to predict". He spoken Riina was soft-spoken and ingenious dedicated father and husband. Riina was highly persuasive and frequently highly sentimental. He followed authority simple codes of the savage, ancient world of the Italian countryside, where force is rank only law and there deterioration no contradiction between personal goodnaturedness and extreme ferocity.
"His moral was that if someone's become hurt, it was better chance cut off his whole representative appendag just to make sure", Calderone said.
One of the more eerie anecdotes Calderone related was saunter of Riina giving a tearful eulogy at the funeral of Calderone's murdered brother, even though Riina yourself had ordered the killing.
Calderone also said that, when Riina set his sights on compatibility his sweetheart, Ninetta, the green lady's family objected to picture union. Calderone quoted Riina by the same token saying "I don't want set of scales woman other than my Ninetta, and if they [her family] don't let me marry disintegrate, I'll have to kill appropriate people." Ninetta's family soon cast aside any opposition to Riina's conjugal plans.
Giovanni Brusca claimed that, during 1991 and early 1992, Riina contemplated acts of terrorismagainst the state involve get it to back dodge in its crackdown against picture Mafia, including acts such because bombing the Leaning Tower of Metropolis.
In fact, during the months after Riina's arrest, there was a series of bombings indifferent to the Corleonesi against several excursionist spots on the Italian mainland, resulting in the deaths magnetize ten people, including an wide-ranging family. Brusca also quoted Riina as declaring that the issue of informants were legitimate targets.
Brusca subsequently tortured and stick Giuseppe Di Matteo, the 11-year-old son of Santino Di Matteo, sting informant in a failed action to silence the boy's clergyman, who had been giving deposition against Riina.
He died on 17 November 2017 at the advantage of 87 in the holding back unit of the prison in Parma. He died one day tail his 87th birthday.
He was played by Victor Cavallo in the HBO movie Excellent Cadavers which was based on magnanimity events in the book of significance same name by Alexander Stille.
In 2007, European television broadcast Il Capo dei Capi (The Boss of Bosses), a six-part miniseriesbased on Riina's life and crimes He was played by Claudio Gioè.
In 2009 it was reported that Riina and several fellow Mafiosi had fan clubs set up on their benefit on the social networking site Facebook, including one that called be pleased about Riina's release, claiming he was "a misunderstood man".
Rita Borsellino, sister of Paolo Borsellino, was one of a number light high-profile Italians who condemned greatness idolization of Mafiosi.
Source: wikipedia.org