Mafia and fascism repressions

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Re: Mafia and fascism repressions

by toto » Thu Mar 19, 2015 5:28 am

I was thinking some more on this topic and even though Buscetta mentioned Mori didn't affect Cosa Nostra and sentences were low, there must have been some problems at least.

According to a few pentiti including Buscetta and I think Calderone knew something on this topic as well, 1930s is origin of France mafia family, Napoli mafia family and Tunis mafia family which was most important family of the ones outside Sicily until 1950s.

Re: Mafia and fascism repressions

by toto » Sun Mar 15, 2015 7:09 am

scagghiuni wrote:
toto wrote:Anyway, I don't think Cosa Nostra started to move as one single body until 1950s - even if they did make an overall boss before then it didn't matter much.
the mafia commission is much older, it was present at least at the end of 1800s or even before... buscetta talks about a new commission that was dismantled under fascist regime and started again after the II war but he knew nothing about what happened before
Sure we know there was commission in Palermo before then, but families were much more important.

It is only in 1950s when some bosses became puppets of others and some bosses became more important and they used the commission to control and move Cosa Nostra as one whole body. Its why Cavataio, Salvatore Manno, Antonino Matranga, Pietro Torretta and some other bosses didn't want such a strong commission because then a boss might not have full control of his family.

Re: Mafia and fascism repressions

by scagghiuni » Sun Mar 15, 2015 4:16 am

toto wrote:Anyway, I don't think Cosa Nostra started to move as one single body until 1950s - even if they did make an overall boss before then it didn't matter much.
the mafia commission is much older, it was present at least at the end of 1800s or even before... buscetta talks about a new commission that was dismantled under fascist regime and started again after the II war but he knew nothing about what happened before

Re: Mafia and fascism repressions

by toto » Sat Mar 14, 2015 7:11 pm

He mentioned Vizzini and Genco Russo and said they were respected bosses but they couldn't be commanders of Cosa Nostra in sicily because they were from Caltanissetta and Agrigento. So he mentioned them with good words and not like Cascio Ferro where he didn't mention even one good word.

What he mentioned about Cascio Ferro was things he was told by old timers. So it's a reflection of what Palermo mafia thought of Cascio Ferro.

Anyway, I don't think Cosa Nostra started to move as one single body until 1950s - even if they did make an overall boss before then it didn't matter much. This was the cause of first mafia war that some bosses didn't like to be ruled by commission. Like I mentioned some days back about the incident of Rosario Anselmo and Raffaele Spina's sister and the mafia commission allowed the transfer of Anselmo to Noce family so Cavataio, Matranga, Manno and other bosses used this to bring more guys behind them when they said commission is just to help few guys and destroy the families.

Re: Mafia and fascism repressions

by Dwalin2014 » Sat Mar 14, 2015 6:54 pm

toto wrote: - Cosa Nostra guys used to laugh at him because he did life sentence for Petrosino murder
But he didn't. Hi did life for Lo Voi and Falconieri, he was never convicted for Petrosino.

Sounds Buscetta and his friends didn't respect him. Strange, in the books about mafia history I read Cascio Ferro was always indicated as quite a powerful boss, even though based in a small town. If Buscetta says he was just a boasting fraud, then I don't know anymore what to think.

But who was the real power in Sicily then? Antonio Ortoleva reunited the mafia of several provinces, but was seen more as a figurehead, Cascio Ferro (if Buscetta is right) didn't matter much either, Calogero Vizzini and Giuseppe Genco Russo were still relatively young (Vizzini made business stealing mules and selling them back, not really a "serious" racket).

Re: Mafia and fascism repressions

by toto » Sat Mar 14, 2015 6:16 pm

Buscetta said about Cascio Ferro:
- not even a man of honor
- he's a charlatan, a stupid and
- Cosa Nostra guys used to laugh at him because he did life sentence for Petrosino murder
- didn't have nothing to do with Petrosino murder
- old time guys Buscetta talked to said Cascio Ferro was a fake and he was boasting about murder he didn't do
- killer was Giuseppe Palmigiano soldier of Palermo centro and his brother Ernesto was consigliere of same family

It's possible Cascio Ferro didn't get an introduction to anybody in Palermo because he was from southern part of Palermo province next to Agrigento so that's why nobody in Palermo knew him as man of honor. I mention this because Cascio Ferro's grandsons were part of Maxi trial in 1980s. They were considered bosses of Bisacquino. I think they got found not guilty. One of them was engineer and other a medical assistant.

Re: Mafia and fascism repressions

by Antiliar » Sat Mar 14, 2015 1:15 pm

I'm not saying that Cascio Ferro didn't participate in some sense, just that at the time he denied doing so (what else was he going to do since admitting guilt would have meant the death penalty for him) and that nothing was ever proven against him. He was close to many politicians and this one could have lied or he may not have been present, after all, a boss doesn't need to be present for a killing. To me, however, it seems more logical to have a Palermitani leader be involved rather than a rural Mafia boss. I posted the name of the consigliere from Palermo Centro that Buscetta mentioned as Giuseppe Palmigiano.

Re: Mafia and fascism repressions

by Dwalin2014 » Sat Mar 14, 2015 1:02 pm

Antiliar wrote:I forget which one, but Buscetta said that the person who became the consigliere of the Palermo Centro borgata was the person who killed Petrosino and that Cascio Ferro had nothing to do with it. At the time Cascio Ferro denied responsibility and said he was with some politicians, and the politicians verified that. Traditionally the blame for Petrosino's killing went to Cascio Ferro and Antonino Passanante and possibly Carlo Costantino, but nothing was ever proven. Last year a wannabe Mafioso named Domenico Palazzotto claimed that his great uncle, Paolo Palazzotto, killed Petrosino on behalf of Cascio Ferro. Some are skeptical that Domenico was even related to Paolo but only share the same surname. Actually the order to kill Petrosino came out of New York because he beat the crap out of Ignazio Lupo, and an assault on a Mafia boss wasn't taken lightly.
That's new information to me. I knew Petrosino had beaten the hell out of Lupo (actually, this is how organized crime and politicians should be treated in my opinion), but Cascio Ferro having nothing to do with the hit, that I didn't know. Please, try to find the link to the source or at least remember the name of the consigliere of the Palermo Centro family.

But is it reliable information that Cascio Ferro didn't participate IN ANY WAY? That the American mob had a part in it doesn't surprise me, but I thought the local direct supervisor of the hit was Cascio Ferro :?

Re: Mafia and fascism repressions

by Antiliar » Sat Mar 14, 2015 12:04 pm

I forget which one, but Buscetta said that the person who became the consigliere of the Palermo Centro borgata was the person who killed Petrosino and that Cascio Ferro had nothing to do with it. At the time Cascio Ferro denied responsibility and said he was with some politicians, and the politicians verified that. Traditionally the blame for Petrosino's killing went to Cascio Ferro and Antonino Passanante and possibly Carlo Costantino, but nothing was ever proven. Last year a wannabe Mafioso named Domenico Palazzotto claimed that his great uncle, Paolo Palazzotto, killed Petrosino on behalf of Cascio Ferro. Some are skeptical that Domenico was even related to Paolo but only share the same surname. Actually the order to kill Petrosino came out of New York because he beat the crap out of Ignazio Lupo, and an assault on a Mafia boss wasn't taken lightly.

Edit: The person mentioned by Buscetta was Giuseppe Palmigiano. Would like to find out more about him.

Re: Mafia and fascism repressions

by Dwalin2014 » Sat Mar 14, 2015 8:32 am

toto wrote: I'm sure you already know Buscetta didn't have any good words to say about Cascio Ferro. He said this was a guy who took responsibility for things he didn't do. Of course, Buscetta was just repeating what he was told considering Casccio Ferro was dead before Buscetta joined Cosa Nostra. But information above makes me think that Buscetta's statement has more truth than just some old timers talking.
By "responsibility for things he didn't do", do you mean the Lo Voi and Falconieri murders or the Petrosino murder? I always thought he did in fact kill Petrosino or order his murder. But I am not familiar with the sources which quote Buscetta talking about Cascio Ferro. What did he exactly say?

Re: Mafia and fascism repressions

by toto » Sat Mar 14, 2015 7:43 am

Dwalin2014 wrote:By the way, speaking of Cascio Ferro: he was convicted for allegedly ordering the murder of Gioacchino Lo Voi. When convicted, he said to the judge "I have committed many crimes in my life, but here and now, you have convicted me for the only one I haven't committed". The author Giuseppe Carlo Marino writes that there was a rumor in Bisacquino that the real killer of Lo Voi was an American hitman, who later fell ill and confessed to a local priest, but warned him: "while I am alive, don't tell anybody I killed Lo Voi; when I die, you can tell". So it seems Cascio Ferro has been framed, in prison he said the only person he killed in his life was the American police officer Joe Petrosino, killed in Sicily in 1909.
But the author Arrigo Petacco in his book about Joe Petrosino says that Cascio Ferro was convicted not only for the Lo Voi murder, but also for Francesco Falconieri's murder. Who is this Falconieri? Was he killed together with Lo Voi or was this a separate murder episode that took place elsewhere? If it was a separate episode, could it be that Cascio Ferro was innocent of the Lo Voi murder, but guilty of the Falconieri murder? The same book by Petacco says Vito Campegna was accused to be the hitman in both Lo Voi and Falconieri murders. Was he convicted or acquitted, was there anything linking him to Falconieri? And who was this "American" who really killed Lo Voi?
I'm sure you already know Buscetta didn't have any good words to say about Cascio Ferro. He said this was a guy who took responsibility for things he didn't do. Of course, Buscetta was just repeating what he was told considering Casccio Ferro was dead before Buscetta joined Cosa Nostra. But information above makes me think that Buscetta's statement has more truth than just some old timers talking.

Re: Mafia and fascism repressions

by jimmyb » Sat Mar 14, 2015 7:39 am

ukthesis wrote:Read this eye-opening article. It describes Sicilian Mafia turncoats in the 1930s, including some rarely known about in the west. The guy who wrote this also wrote a book, sadly in Italian:

Vittorio COCO, "The Pentiti of the Sicilian Mafia in the 1930s" Modern Italy journal, volume 18, 2013, pp. 245-254

He also goes into the Fascist era in Sicily.
Thanks for the reference Dave---great stuff. And thanks for bringing "Modern Italy" to my attention. Looks like excellent research.

Re: Mafia and fascism repressions

by ukthesis » Thu Mar 05, 2015 4:06 am

Read this eye-opening article. It describes Sicilian Mafia turncoats in the 1930s, including some rarely known about in the west. The guy who wrote this also wrote a book, sadly in Italian:

Vittorio COCO, "The Pentiti of the Sicilian Mafia in the 1930s" Modern Italy journal, volume 18, 2013, pp. 245-254

He also goes into the Fascist era in Sicily.

Re: Mafia and fascism repressions

by Antiliar » Thu Mar 05, 2015 3:22 am

Been wanting to get the Patti book, especially because it provides the names of many of the leaders between the era of Coco's book almost to the time of Buscetta. Also wanted to find out more about the history and leadership of Palermo Centro. I believe Paolo Virzi was the Centro boss, at least according to other sources. Buscetta said it went as far back as the early 1900s, but probably much earlier.

Re: Mafia and fascism repressions

by Dwalin2014 » Wed Mar 04, 2015 5:14 pm

toto wrote: Maybe Mori managed to hit Cosa Nostra in Catania where it was weak but in Palermo where it was strong the allies of Cosa Nostra probably directed Mori in to different directions like bandits..
I just bought a book called "Mafia alla sbarra" by Manoela Patti which deals exactly with the mafia in the city of Palermo and the nearby territory during fascism. Haven't finished it yet, but the sentences for most bosses were indeed ridiculous.

For example, these guys got only 3 years:

Stefano Bonta' (boss of Villagrazia)
Andrea Saccone (boss of Falsomiele)
Gaetano Amoroso (boss of Porta Montalto)
Gioacchino Pennino (boss of Brancaccio)

Giovanbattista Buffa (boss of Ciaculli) and Serafino Marsala (boss of the Guadagna borgata) must have gotten more, but the book doesn't specify how much.

The clan of the Santa Maria di Gesu' district was indicted in 1928, but almost everybody was out by 1932.

Santo Bonetti, boss of Ficarazzi, got about 10 years however.

Anyway, when the fascists didn't manage to keep them in prison, they often sent them (at least those who didn't join the fascist party) to small islands where they couldn't contact the organization. For example, a group of mafiosi sent to the Favignana island, got so desperate they offered financial contribute for the war in Africa in exchange of freedom. They included:

Pietro Buffa, son of the Ciaculli boss Giovanni Battista Buffa
3 members of the D'Agati family from Villabate
Francesco Cuccia (boss of Piana dei Greci)
Antonino Cracolici (a high-ranking mafioso from Piana dei Colli)
Leonardo Greco from Bagheria
Paolo Virzi' from the Noce district in Palermo

All in all, 41 mafiosi signed the letter.

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