Mafia and fascism repressions

[Dwalin2014]

I am presently interested in the mafia and antimafia of the fascist period in Italy. Have already read several books about the subject, but almost all of them offer very little detail about the outcome of the trials, even though describe very well the mafia and related events of those days. There is a question: I often read that the antimafia repression was very severe and almost ferocious, with torture being frequently used to get information on mob bosses. Yet, the recent book "Mafia alla sbarra" by Manoela Patti says that the longest prison term ever given to a mafioso in Palermo during fascist repressions was 11 years. Isn't that weird? Torture, yet no death sentences or life in prison terms. The same situation seems to repeat itself in in the smaller towns in the Palermo province, where some mafia bosses got 10 years, but most (at least those specified in the books) got less. The only exception I heard of is the town of Bisacquino, where Vito Cascio Ferro and some underlings got life sentences.
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?

[Antiliar]

I don't have anymore info than you do on Falconieri. The books linked here: https://www.google.com/search?num=100&s ... sruabA_3Uk are the only ones that mention him that I'm aware of. There's probably some archival material in Rome or Palermo that gives more details. Maybe Professor Lupo might have more info.

[B.]

I imagine the fall of the fascist regime shortened some existing sentences/punishments. That wouldn't explain it if members were initially given relatively short sentences, though.

[jimmyb]

I don't have anymore info than you do on Falconieri. The books linked here: https://www.google.com/search?num=100&s ... sruabA_3Uk are the only ones that mention him that I'm aware of. There's probably some archival material in Rome or Palermo that gives more details. Maybe Professor Lupo might have more info.

Yeah I know Lupo went into the archives and found some great stuff on Castellammare Del Golfo during the Fascist period. I think John Dickie said the archives from this era are rather disorganized. I wish I were more proficient with Italian because I'd really enjoy looking through those files. I think there's a lot we don't know.

Christopher Duggan wrote a book on fascism and mafia. He's a respected scholar but I haven't read the book.

[toto]

On the fascist era Buscetta said Mori was not any threat to Cosa Nostra. But Cosa Nostra returned to business as usual after Mori's time so this can only mean there was no damage and Cosa Nostra was allied with some of the Fascist party apparatus in Sicily.

[Dwalin2014]

On the fascist era Buscetta said Mori was not any threat to Cosa Nostra. But Cosa Nostra returned to business as usual after Mori's time so this can only mean there was no damage and Cosa Nostra was allied with some of the Fascist party apparatus in Sicily.

That's strange, because I read Antonino Calderone said they still remembered the Mori repressions like a nightmare. But fascism was indeed much more relaxed with the mafia than it's usually said: after Mori sent a certain number of mafiosi in prison, that idiot Mussolini declared an amnesty in 1932, many gangsters got out and started a war with those who never went to prison, headed by the Marasa' brothers. Ernesto Marasa' was probably informing on rivals and avoided prison thanks to that, but nevertheless wanted to become boss of bosses; the former prisoners tried to reclaim the former positions. So there was another repression in the 30s by Giuseppe Gueli, 190 mafiosi were indicted, only 83 went to trial and only 53 were convicted. The longest sentence was for the Monreale boss Francesco Settana (10 years and 10 months). The Marasa' brothers weren't convicted at all.
The strange thing though is that those 53 really did their time, the Allies didn't release them after the fall of fascism and upheld the sentence.
There is a book about this second antimafia operation by Gueli called "Relazioni mafiose" by Vittorio Coco and Manoela Patti.

Mani mafiosi were indeed members of the fascist party: Mori tried to send to jail the politician Alfredo Cucco, but failed. The only thing he managed to do is to remove from the parliament another mafia politician, Antonino Di Giorgio.

However, I read Mori was very, VERY lenient with the landowner aristocracy who were often the masterminds behind the mafia and handled out murder contracts. Most of the mafia bosses at the time were administrators of the aristocracy's lands (gabellotti). The only case when aristocracy went to prison is when 2 of them (one was some baron De Carcamo, while I forgot the other's name) were sentenced to several months for being associated with the mafia lawyer Antonio Ortoleva, boss of a sort of commission which included representatives of 3 Sicilian provinces and was based in Mistretta. However, the author Giovanni Raffaele thinks that the mafia in the Mistretta area wasn't very powerful, Ortoleva's importance was overblown, while the media almost labeled him boss of bosses. He doubts that there was a well organized group at all. So I don't know what to believe.

[toto]

The problem with Mori was people didn't trust the state and went to Cosa Nostra. Now here was this guy threatening women and children. All it did was conform peoples suspicion and made Cosa Nostra stronger.

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 can't remember exactly but I think Mori put in his memoirs which showed he knew that he didn't damage Cosa Nostra.

[Dwalin2014]

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.

[Antiliar]

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.

[ukthesis]

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.

[jimmyb]

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.

[toto]

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.

[Dwalin2014]

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?

[Antiliar]

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.

[Dwalin2014]

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