Buscetta on Giuliano

[B.]

It was in 1947 that I had the opportunity to personally know the most famous man of honor of the time: Salvatore Giuliano.

Everyone considered him a bandit who, at some point, came into contact with the mafia and who, almost by chance, became a mafia member and then clashed with the men of honor. This is not true. Salvatore Giuliano was, from the beginning, a member of the Cosa Nostra; he belonged to the family of Montelepre and his representative was called Salvatore Celeste.

I have to tell the truth: when I knew I was going to meet him, I felt great emotion. I was in the company of some mafiosi from the family of Salvatore Greco, who was older and better known than me (he was twenty-four and I was nineteen). We met Giuliano in Palermo, in a wine warehouse belonging to Giuseppe Gibbisi, "soldier" of the Corso dei Mille family, and Filippo Vassallo, deputy head of the Palermo-center family. Gibbisi was my first wife's godfather. Both guaranteed the security of the meetings thanks to a surveillance service outside the warehouse."

"I can say with certainty that Cosa Nostra did not betray or kill Giuliano. It was certain men of Cosa Nostra who lent themselves to this dirty work but, for this, Cosa Nostra subsequently punished them until to death. They were simple mafia cronies, not even families. Traitors like Nitto Minasola de San Giuseppe Iato, Domenico Albano de Borgetto and Gaspare Pisciotta who acted against the will and without the knowledge of their respective families.

As for the families of Montelepre and Monreale, within which many traitors had taken refuge, they ended up being dissolved, partly as a result of internal differences, largely under the pressure of the negative judgment of all the other Sicilian families. From that moment until the beginning of the 1980s, there were no more families in Montelepre.

[felice]

Yes, several mafiosi of Montelepre were basically operating under the Torretta family in the 70s. The Maniaci brothers were taking orders from Rosario Di Maggio

[B.]

He says Montelepre was reinstated in the early 1980s but when was Monreale reinstated?

Thank you.

[felice]

I think that the family was normally operating in the 70s

[CabriniGreen]

When did Catania go from one family to like 4, if not five?

[PolackTony]

When did Catania go from one family to like 4, if not five?

I could be wrong, but I believe that the only two Cosa Nostra Families in Catania Città are the Santapaola-Ercolano and the Mazzei. The first being the original Catania Family dating back to the Saitta in 1925, and the Mazzei forming in the 90s when the Corleonesi tried to use Santo Mazzei ‘u carcagnusu’ to take out Nitto Santapaola. Some of the other “clans” or whatever around Catania seem to be splinter/succession factions of the “Cursoti” and similar non-Cosa Nostra criminal groups that have been beefing with the mafia there since the 70s. Then there is the Laudani, who I understand were closely allied in the past with the Santapaola, but it’s unclear to me if they were or have since become CN, or are another unaffiliated local group that was used as like a proxy force by the Santapaola, which never has had many actual members, so far as I can tell. We know that Nitto Santapaola had close ties to the Di Stefano ‘ndrine, so it seems plausible to me that he might have also used alliances with non-CN groups locally.

Eastern Sicily is always pretty confusing though, so if I’m off hopefully someone can correct me.

[Strax]

When did Catania go from one family to like 4, if not five?

I could be wrong, but I believe that the only two Cosa Nostra Families in Catania Città are the Santapaola-Ercolano and the Mazzei. The first being the original Catania Family dating back to the Saitta in 1925, and the Mazzei forming in the 90s when the Corleonesi tried to use Santo Mazzei ‘u carcagnusu’ to take out Nitto Santapaola. Some of the other “clans” or whatever around Catania seem to be splinter/succession factions of the “Cursoti” and similar non-Cosa Nostra criminal groups that have been beefing with the mafia there since the 70s. Then there is the Laudani, who I understand were closely allied in the past with the Santapaola, but it’s unclear to me if they were or have since become CN, or are another unaffiliated local group that was used as like a proxy force by the Santapaola, which never has had many actual members, so far as I can tell. We know that Nitto Santapaola had close ties to the Di Stefano ‘ndrine, so it seems plausible to me that he might have also used alliances with non-CN groups locally.

Eastern Sicily is always pretty confusing though, so if I’m off hopefully someone can correct me.

Santapaola's and Cappello's are running things in Catania, but Cappello's are independent, they are not part of 'Cosa Nostra'. You are right, Laudani are basically extended arm of Santapaola's. Mazzei is another small family in Catania.

[CabriniGreen]

Looking for clarification here... I've read about them many times but.......


What or whom exactly are the "Cursoti Milanese" ? What's their relationship to the Mazzei? Are they an armed wing of the Mazzei? How many " Cursoti" factions are there currently?

This is actually something I wanted to ask about in that Mafia Summit thing... I just didn't think id get many responses.


@ Strax and or PolakTony

Another question....if you in the mood...

Are the Bonacorrsi faction of the Capellos independent too? The so called " Carrateddi"... is that it? I probably spelled it wrong. Are they the armed wing of the Capellos?

These families in Catania/ close to Messina have a very similar type of structure to the nearby Ndrangheta clans.

[CabriniGreen]

Also, is it for sure, only the Santoapolo, and Mazzei are the actual families?

I've seen it written the Capellos being Cosa Nostra, also independents. Same for the Cursoti..

I've always been intrigued by these families. If thecSicilian Cupola was suspended or disbanded, I've always wondered how they became ratified as a family.

By being the Vorleonesi proxy in Catania, did they have the authority to recognize families themselves in Catania?

[CabriniGreen]

One more before I forget...

Thst Barcellona family in Messina? Cosa Nostra? Or independent group?

[scagghiuni]

One more before I forget...

Thst Barcellona family in Messina? Cosa Nostra? Or independent group?

the Barcellona family is part of Cosa Nostra and it answers to Catania (Santapaola) in the commission

[B.]

Mistretta is definitely a Cosa Nostra Family and part of the San Mauro Castelverde mandamento. I wasn't aware that Barcellona was officially recognized but they are at least referred to as a Famiglia on charts:



Here is how Italian authorities described some of these Messina groups:

The criminal landscape is characterized by the existence of distinct areas of influence, within which Mafia-type structures operate, each with its own characteristics, which are affected by the influence of mafia organizations of the neighboring rulers. In particular, I know they distinguish that: starting from the outskirts of the city of Messina, it extends along the northern coast up to the Nebrodi, where the influence of the families of Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, Mazzarra Sant'Andrea, Milazzo and Terme Vigliatore is recorded. These are militarily organized criminal formations, connected with the families of Cosa Nostra of Palermo, San Mauro Castelverde, Catania and Caltanissetta, which have taken on a structure and operating systems that are entirely homologous to the Palermo clans.

Some of the Messinese groups have taken on a mafia-like structure and have relationships to Cosa Nostra Families but aren't officially part of the system.

The area directly around Messina citta doesn't seem to have any formal Cosa Nostra groups but as this notes the Santapaola sphere of influence extends there:



Antonino Cutrera who was a great early resource on 1800s mafia activity published in 1900 that the mafia was almost entirely on the western part of the island but did surface in certain districts of Catania and Messina. He mentioned an organization of mafia-like brigands who were prosecuted in Messina but didn't fully contextualize it as "mafia" like he did for the western Sicilian examples, where he broke down the familiar structure, initiation rites, etc. He noted that the highest concentration of mafia groups was in Palermo province, then it faded a bit in Trapani and Caltanissetta, only to get very high in concentration again in Agrigento which is consistent with the mafia to this day.

Decades later Italian parliament gave a history of the mafia and also said it was almost entirely a western Sicilian phenomenon and one reason it didn't take hold in Messina was because of differences in government:

The phenomenon had more pronounced manifestations in Palermo and western Sicily, because in Messina the weakness of the central governments was put to the advantage of municipal independence, freedom of trade, of the authority and prestige of local bodies. More specifically, Messina and eastern Sicily tried to acquire an autonomy of government, for the protection of local trade, and when they strove to valorise local administrative bodies, in the attempt, not unlike that made by many cities in northern and central Italy, to oppose a strong communal power to a practically non-existent state power.

Antonino Calderone said that Catania didn't become a Family until well into the 20th century and that initially some members were inducted there who belonged to a Palermo Family before being given recognition as their own Family. I suspect Cosa Nostra had remote members in other eastern areas even if they didn't have Families there. For example I'm confident that Rosario Vitaliti was an uomo d'onore in Taormina even though there was no Family there -- he was visited by Nicola Gentile and Charlie Luciano, then when Michael DiLeonardo was going to Taormina for his honeymoon old time Gambino member Joe Cusumano asked him to deliver a letter to Vitaliti but Vitaliti had died a short time earlier so when he arrived he couldn't deliver the letter.

We know Cosa Nostra developed relationships with Messinesi for political purposes after WWII but they had a falling out soon after. I wouldn't be surprised if they at least inducted some people there over the years but its history and present consistently show a weak formal presence for Cosa Nostra.

Barcellona interestingly produced Gambino members Umberto Valenti and Joe Biondo as well as Philly boss Joe Bruno Dovi. It appears the Corozzos trace their ancestry there as well which is no doubt a coincidence but worth noting. It's interesting there is some kind of mafia presence today given it produced some important mafia members in the US. Doesn't mean there was anything there when these guys were born but it could have lent itself to the mentality.

--

Interestingly with Santapaola in Catania, Gaetano Costa (Messinese 'ndrina leader and pentito) said Santapaola was loyal to the 'ndrangheta first and foremost. Santapaola was obviously a Catania Family member and boss but I wouldn't be surprised if he was also initiated into the 'ndrangheta. The Calderones hated the Calabrians so I'd guess Santapaola used this to his advantage in his conflict with the Calderones by cultivating alliances with them.

[B.]

Since I mentioned Cutrera and this thread is delving into history, here is some insight he shared about the 1870s-1880s mafia investigations:

- Monreale's mafia was headed by a capo (boss) and the different neighborhoods in Monreale were headed by "sotto-capi" and there was a "consiglio direttivo". The members referred to each other as "amici" and were initiated with a finger prick, blood dropped on an image of a saint, which was then burned. Among other rules related to mutual aid and secrecy, they had a rule that proceeds from illegal activity had to be kicked into a war chest of funds intended to help members in need. They also had a rule about helping any member who was in trouble with the law.

- Cutrera said the investigation into the Stoppaglieri in Monreale also revealed the same organization in other provincial comuni around Palermo like Parco, San Giuseppe Jato, Santa Cristina, Montelepre, Borgetto, Piana dei Greci, and Misilmeri. These groups had a verbal method of introducing themselves to one another through a series of coded questions. The Stoppaglieri also had a relationship to the Fratuzzi of Bagheria.

- Monreale was believed to be under the direction of the Porta Montalto Family in Palermo citta which was led by the powerful Amoruso brothers. I wonder if Porta Montalto is analogous to any of the later Families under a different name or if this was a Family that was dissolved. The Amoruso brothers come across as the top mafia leaders in Palermo citta so maybe one of them was akin to the "capo supremo" of Palermo later identified in the SanGiorgi report, which some of us believe was probably the capoprovincia of Palermo or some equivalent. Would make sense given Monreale was said to be subordinate to them.

- The "Fratuzzi" in Bagheria had a capo and also the rank of "decimoprimo" who overaw "decine", then a group of "segretarie", likely another reference to the consiglio like we see in Monreale where it was explicitly identified as a consiglio. We know in San Jose the elected leader of their consiglio was called the "secretary".

- The "Fratellanza" in Favara also had branches in neighboring Agrigento comuni like Campobello di Licata, Canicatti, Comitini, and Palma di Montechiaro. The Fratellanza had a "capo testa" and under him were the "capi decine" who oversaw groups of at least ten men. The members of a decine had to answer to the absolute authority of their "capo decina", who answered to the "capo testa", and the members of a decine were not supposed to know the identities of the members of other decine. They also had an initiation rite where blood was placed on the image of a saint and burned.

- Cutrera believed that the capi (bosses) who oversaw each municipality answered to a "capo provinciale" who kept himself hidden. So it looks like capoprovincia goes back to the 1800s.

- The capo of a village near Palermo was elected municipal councillor so the "picciotti" under him bought him a gold watch to celebrate. The term "picciotti" was in common use for members.

- The "Oblonica" looks to be functionally near-identical to the "Fratuzzi" of Bagheria, both using a tribunal to arbitrate issues but as I mentioned in the consiglio thread, the "Oblonica" also used a higher court called a "turno" which brings to mind Maniaci in Milwaukee saying his Family used the "tourna" (ph) for similar matters.

[B.]

Few other things on the investigation into the Porta Montalto Family in the 1880s:

- Porta Montalto referred to itself as the Fratuzzi, much as Bagheria and Corleone did, and a "setta" (sect) of the Fratuzzi also existed in Altavilla Milicia. In addition to Fratuzzi, Porta Montalto also looks to have referred to itself as the "Cavalleria (Cavalry) di Porta Montalto". A pentito in the Stoppaglieri case used "setta" to refer to the different branches of the mafia and we've seen that term used in other 1800s investigations and exposes on the mafia.

- Salvatore Amoroso was identified in the investigation as the "capo squadrone". This brings to mind the Pittsburgh informant who used the term caposquadrone and sparked some debates on the boards over whether certain mafia Families had a designation in between capodecina and the administration, many of us dismissing it, but here it is referring to the boss of Porta Montalto. However, it's not clear from what's available whether "capo squadrone" was an insider term for the capofamiglia / rappresentantive or a term used by the investigators. Given it looks like Amoroso had a higher level of authority, perhaps being a capoprovincia or something like Palermo's "capo supremo" (as used in the Sangiorgi report), it also raises other questions about use of the term.

- Salvatore DiPaola was identified as the "segretario generale" of the organization, so again we see the use of secretary which is likely an equivalent of consigliere. Since Bagheria had multiple segretarie, DiPaolo being "segretario generale" could point to him being the chairman of a council in Porta Montalto much as we see in some US Families with a consiglio.

[BobbyBacala]

The Morabito clan established a 'Ndrangheta cell in Messina on Sicily - across the Strait of Messina opposite Calabria. Up to the late 1970s, criminal gangs in Messina were under the influence of the 'Ndrangheta.[7] Only later, the Sicilian Cosa Nostra established an organisation of its own in Messina and its province by including the local Calabrian Mafia-type structure. The whole process took place without any conflict and there is reason to believe that the Mafia infiltration in the Messina area took place after agreements made between the leaders of the two organisations.[1]

The Morabito's exercise considerable power in Messina up to the present.[7] The clan turned the University of Messina into their private fiefdom, ordering that degrees, academic posts and influence be awarded to favoured associates. Friends or relatives of politicians were the beneficiaries whom the clan wished to cultivate. Before a police crackdown in June 2001, two professors had been kneecapped by unknown assailants, four bombs exploded in university buildings and the cars of several academics were set on fire. Lecturers were threatened before examinations by students claiming mafia-type backing.[8]

This is why Cosa nostra never really was dominant on the eastern side of sicily