by PolackTony » Wed Jun 07, 2023 5:34 pm
Good info here, thanks. There’s a lot about La Stidda which remains opaque to me (much as with Cosa Nostra in Agrigento), but I hadn’t been aware that Stiddari were involved in violence in Aragona during the broader “feuds” that erupted in Caltanissetta and Agrigento during the 80s/90s. Makes sense though, as Aragona is near Racalmuto which was one of the centers of these conflicts, per my understanding.
The Caramazza surname is not at all common in Palma di Montechiaro, so I’d guess that the Gerlando Caramazza killed there may not have been a local. Caramazza is most concentrated in Favara, Aragona, and Canicattì, from what I’ve seen.
As B notes, surnames like Buscemi, DiGiacomo, and Caramazza are common in Aragona, so it’s hard to say whether the men involved in the 1980s conflict there were directly related to the individuals relevant to the Biagio DiGiacomo discussion, but it’s certainly a real possibility, especially given that Biagio was unable to travel to Sicily as late as 1990 and that he was suspected of having some involvement in murders there. I’d also think it’s possible that conflicts between stiddari and mafiosi in the 80s could have been a continuation of older beefs, given that the origin of La Stidda clearly seems to have hinged on “excommunicated” CN members who pulled lower level “malavita” criminal networks into their orbit to contest CN. So it could be that the violence in the 80s evolved from prior conflicts that could have involved Biagio’s father, taking on a new form with the organization of Stidda clans by renegade mafiosi.
Good info here, thanks. There’s a lot about La Stidda which remains opaque to me (much as with Cosa Nostra in Agrigento), but I hadn’t been aware that Stiddari were involved in violence in Aragona during the broader “feuds” that erupted in Caltanissetta and Agrigento during the 80s/90s. Makes sense though, as Aragona is near Racalmuto which was one of the centers of these conflicts, per my understanding.
The Caramazza surname is not at all common in Palma di Montechiaro, so I’d guess that the Gerlando Caramazza killed there may not have been a local. Caramazza is most concentrated in Favara, Aragona, and Canicattì, from what I’ve seen.
As B notes, surnames like Buscemi, DiGiacomo, and Caramazza are common in Aragona, so it’s hard to say whether the men involved in the 1980s conflict there were directly related to the individuals relevant to the Biagio DiGiacomo discussion, but it’s certainly a real possibility, especially given that Biagio was unable to travel to Sicily as late as 1990 and that he was suspected of having some involvement in murders there. I’d also think it’s possible that conflicts between stiddari and mafiosi in the 80s could have been a continuation of older beefs, given that the origin of La Stidda clearly seems to have hinged on “excommunicated” CN members who pulled lower level “malavita” criminal networks into their orbit to contest CN. So it could be that the violence in the 80s evolved from prior conflicts that could have involved Biagio’s father, taking on a new form with the organization of Stidda clans by renegade mafiosi.