Modern Bonanno + Sicilian Mafia ties

[B.]

Not the average sister/daughter but it's a big stretch to imagine her getting her finger pinched in some farmhouse.

[PolackTony]

Yeah, agreed, but I also think that there may be a lot of grey area between "she was an inducted member of Cosa Nostra" and "they wouldn't meet with her because she was a girl". Presumably, Anna Patrizia falls somewhere in that space.

[B.]

Goes back to the idea of non-members being respected and taken seriously when it's authorized by the boss.

They'll say Giusy Vitale wasn't made and couldn't attend formal meetings but then go on to call her "regent of the mandamento" whose "nomination" was accepted. Might as well call her consigliere while they're at it. For whatever reason when people cover this subject they can't resist the urge to put official titles on people who can't by definition have them... it's like the myth of John Gotti being acting captain before he was made.

They should have more fun with this stuff and just say Giusy Vitale was the only person Toto Riina truly feared.

[CabriniGreen]

Yeah, agreed, but I also think that there may be a lot of grey area between "she was an inducted member of Cosa Nostra" and "they wouldn't meet with her because she was a girl". Presumably, Anna Patrizia falls somewhere in that space.

This is what I think as well. I got one more I need to pick your brains on... bear with me.....


Sicily, blow to the new super district
8 April 2013 - 18:06
Anti-mafia blitz in Sicily. In the sights of the carabinieri the "new district of Camporeale", born from the union of the gangs of San Giuseppe Jato and Partinico. The mayor of Montelepre is in handcuffs






A very hard blow to Cosa Nostra. The new mafia "super district" created in Camporeale, in the west of Palermo, was literally disrupted (dozens of arrests) by a blitz by the carabinieri led by Colonel Piero Iannotti. The super-mandate was looking for a side with the Mafia families of New York to consolidate its hegemony on the Cosa Nostra. This is what emerges from the investigations of the Palermo Anti-Mafia District Directorate.

( I view this as a direct reaction and possibly was meant to be a challenge to the emerging New Order in Sicily led by the Inzerillos and Pagliarelli.... my opinion.... I think they wanted a direct line to Cali......)



According to the investigators, the project belonged to the boss Domenico Raccuglia, and after his arrest a couple of years ago, it had been taken over by Antonino Sciortino, the mafia boss of Camporeale, meanwhile returned to freedom after twelve years in prison. The group born from the merger of the districts of Partinico and San Giuseppe Jato had established contacts with the American clans.


The mayor of Montelepre Giacomo Tinervia also ended up in the raid among the 37 people arrested by the carabinieri. Tinervia is accused of extortion and extortion; according to the investigators he would have had close relations with the mafia boss of the town Giuseppe Lombardo, also one of the arrested. The investigation, conducted by the PMs of the Dda Francesco Del Bene, Sergio De Montis and Daniele Paci, documented numerous episodes of extortion and also the preparation of a murder through an environmental interception.

The establishment of the new super-mandate and the internal reorganization of the organization had been entrusted to a sort of Cosa Nostra manager, also arrested today: Antonino Sciortino, 51, a farmer from Camporeale who returned to freedom in 2011 after being detained under the regime of 41 bis.


Following his moves, the carabinieri of the Monreale group have reconstructed the organization charts of the super-mandate and his interests, including the links with his overseas "cousins" in the US. There is also a case of "white shotgun" in the investigations of the Palermo police. Between February and March of last year strong tensions would have matured between the territories of Altofonte and Monreale and in this context it would have been decided to eliminate Giueppe Billitteri, who probably wanted to oppose the reorganization initiated by the boss Antonino Sciortino, in particular in relation to the new assets of the Monreale family.



Chief prosecutor Francesco Messineo praised the gigantic anti-mafia operation: there is no "dual citizenship" for the mafia. Either one is a mafia in Sicily, or one is a mafia in America. "During the investigation, which started in 2010, the investigators came across a singular case". A Sicilian mafioso, who had emigrated to the United States for over twenty years, after having started his illicit activities overseas, had returned to Italy to ask the clans of the island for the "certification" of his "status" as a man of honor, as well as "a sort of nulla osta" certifying his "honorable" exit from the ranks of Cosa Nostra Siciliana.






In order to become part of the Gambino mafia family, this character needed to have his status as a man of honor certified, and the certainty of not being part of any mafia family here at home. A way to allow a sort of “registry office” of the members of the clans ».



Any ideas as to whom this fellow could be? Also, to reiterate....I view this whole initiative as an opposition groups political reaction to the Inzerillo- Pagliarelli- Greco attempts at reorganization, as well as an attempt to establish their own contacts to America without having to consult the Inzerillo clan.

[B.]

They're referring to Salvatore Lombardo who transferred his membership from Montelepre to the Gambino Family. They overcomplicated the description in the article, as he simply received a letter of transfer from the Montelepre leadership which according to Felice was given to Joe Gambino (John's bro). Wasn't a power move against the Inzerillos given it was approved by their faction in the Gambino Family and Lombardo was on record with Pete Inzerillo before the transfer.

Pennisi identified Lombardo as a recognized Gambino member under capodecina Joe Gambino so the transfer def went through. Another transfer was Ignazio Ingrassia who transferred to the Gambino Family from Ciaculli in the 1990s but he transferred back and is now Ciaculli consigliere.

It was the same transfer process they've been doing for over a century, identical to what Nick Gentile described when he transferred back to the US from Sicily in the early 1920s. Boss A releases the member and Boss B accepts him into his Family. Pretty amazing they're still doing it.

[CabriniGreen]

What do you think was the purpose of a Super Madamento?


Also, you think the Inzerillos were ok with the new Madamento?

[B.]

Did any pentiti call it a "super mandamento" or was that just the term LE/press used?

Seems they've been making mandamenti around inland Palermo very large in recent years. The Trabia one has 14 Families in it and Corleone has 9. Would guess it's part of that trend and there's some administrative purpose unless a cooperator specifically said there was more to it.

No idea what the Inzerillos think about anything. Between Passo di Rigano, NYC, and getting arrested they are pretty busy.

[CabriniGreen]

Did any pentiti call it a "super mandamento" or was that just the term LE/press used?

Seems they've been making mandamenti around inland Palermo very large in recent years. The Trabia one has 14 Families in it and Corleone has 9. Would guess it's part of that trend and there's some administrative purpose unless a cooperator specifically said there was more to it.

No idea what the Inzerillos think about anything. Between Passo di Rigano, NYC, and getting arrested they are pretty busy.

That's a good point, and I guess that's partly what I was trying to understand. Exactly WHAT, is a Super Madamento, and how is it different from a regular madamento. And why politically, or operationally would it be neccessary or preferable.

[B.]

It's a good question. I don't think it's different from another mandamento just larger, with press/LE calling it a "super mandamento", but not sure why they merged them. Could have been done for security reasons (fewer capimandamenti attending Commission meetings) or to simplify politics. Be curious if they've done that in other provinces or just Palermo.

You could see it both ways, that having so many Families in each Palermo mandamento could give the mandamento more power over the region but it could also give each one less power, as now you have much more complicated politics with so many Families and bosses in one group competing. Giuffre said there was a lot of rivalry inside the Caccamo mandamento and I'd think it would increase when you have ~14 Families.

[cobra]

-variable 1: more police scrutiny = go to jail quickly
-variable 2: make money quickly
-big mandamento = more family = more soldiers = more money
-lo piccolo make san lorenzo huge then others copy it

[CabriniGreen]

-variable 1: more police scrutiny = go to jail quickly
-variable 2: make money quickly
-big mandamento = more family = more soldiers = more money
-lo piccolo make san lorenzo huge then others copy it

Bingo... that's the bit I was wondering about....if this was a reaction to another power move...

I consider the Lo Piccolos on the same faction as the Inzerillos..

[B.]

It's not something the individual mandamenti could do arbitrarily, as they'd need the individual Families and the provincial Commission to agree. Wonder if it's happened outside of Palermo province. Agrigento doesn't get caught up as much in Palermo politics.

It's like they're heading in the direction of the pre-Commission set-up. Calderone and Allegra both said the provincial capi existed before the mandamento system, so at this rate they'll just end up with no mandamenti and everyone in each province reporting to the capoprovincia like they did 100 years ago.

[CabriniGreen]

It's not something the individual mandamenti could do arbitrarily, as they'd need the individual Families and the provincial Commission to agree. Wonder if it's happened outside of Palermo province. Agrigento doesn't get caught up as much in Palermo politics.

It's like they're heading in the direction of the pre-Commission set-up. Calderone and Allegra both said the provincial capi existed before the mandamento system, so at this rate they'll just end up with no mandamenti and everyone in each province reporting to the capoprovincia like they did 100 years ago.

In fact, I think this was a big reason Colleti and Bisconti repented. Greco ( Leandro) and his allies were reorganizing Palermo... and they were creating a similar setup to what you describe here....

[B.]

Could make a solid argument the mandamento system has created more problems in Sicily than solutions. Made the politics more complicated and prone to manipulation with a lot more bosses asserting power and making high-level alliances.

It's why Buscetta pointed out that the Commission seats originally weren't supposed to be held by a capofamiglia. It was designed to reduce the power of individuals but as he said the opposite ended up happening over time.

The reason the US Commission worked so well is it was a simplification of the Gran Consiglio, capo dei capi, and Assemblea Generale, whereas the Sicilian Commission ended up making a more complicated system. I think they were desperate for reorganization after Mussolini and WWII but overdid it. Just my Monday Morning QB take.

[CabriniGreen]

Could make a solid argument the mandamento system has created more problems in Sicily than solutions. Made the politics more complicated and prone to manipulation with a lot more bosses asserting power and making high-level alliances.

It's why Buscetta pointed out that the Commission seats originally weren't supposed to be held by a capofamiglia. It was designed to reduce the power of individuals but as he said the opposite ended up happening over time.

The reason the US Commission worked so well is it was a simplification of the Gran Consiglio, capo dei capi, and Assemblea Generale, whereas the Sicilian Commission ended up making a more complicated system. I think they were desperate for reorganization after Mussolini and WWII but overdid it. Just my Monday Morning QB take.

I agree with this a lot. It works better for America, I think...