Catania Mafia boss and pentito Antonino Calderone

Antonino Calderone (b. October 24, 1935 in Catania, Sicily) is a mafioso who turned state witness (pentito) in 1987 after his arrest in 1986. Image File history File links Antonio_Calderone. ... Image File history File links Antonio_Calderone. ... Tommaso Buscetta (in sunglasses), the first important pentito of Italian Mafia, escorted in a court of law. ... October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 68 days remaining. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Catania is the second largest city of Sicily and is the capital of the province which bears its name. ... Sicily (Sicilia in Italian, Sicilian and Spanish, Σικελία in Greek) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,700 km² and 5 million inhabitants. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Tommaso Buscetta (in sunglasses), the first important pentito of Italian Mafia, escorted in a court of law. ...

Antonio was the brother of Giuseppe Calderone, the boss of the Mafia in Catania. Antonio's memoirs, Men of Dishonor: Inside the Sicilian Mafia, were published in 1992 with Antimafia sociologist Pino Arlacchi and are considered a handbook for understanding Cosa Nostra and the life of a mafioso. It was translated into many languages. Giuseppe “Pippo” Calderone (Catania, November 1, 1925 – Palermo, September 30, 1978) was an influential Sicilian mafioso from Catania. ... Catania is the second largest city of Sicily and is the capital of the province which bears its name. ... See also: 1991 in literature, other events of 1992, 1993 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Sociology is the study of the social lives of humans, groups and societies. ...

Mafia career

Originally, Catania was not a traditional Mafia area. The Mafia was much more infested in the western part of Sicily. According to Antonino Calderone, the first Mafia family in Catania was started by Antonio Saitta. He had been prosecuted by Mussolini’s Iron Prefect, Cesare Mori. One of his daughters was the mother of Giuseppe and Antonino Calderone. Another uncle had helped the Mafia get back on its feet after World War II, organizing the black market in contraband cigarettes. Catania is the second largest city of Sicily and is the capital of the province which bears its name. ... Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (July 29, 1883 – April 28, 1945) was the prime minister and dictator of Italy from 1922 until 1943, when he was overthrown from power. ... Cesare Mori was born in 1872 and was raised in an orphanage. ...

Antonino Calderone, narrating his initiation ritual in Catania in 1962, recalls that he was surprised to see at the gathering people he knew and he never suspected were in the Mafia, and not to see people he thought were in the organization.^[1] Despite being from a historical Mafia family and the brother of the boss of the Mafia in Catania, Calderone was not aware of what was going on.

Antonino Calderone became the underboss of the Catania Mafia family. On September 30, 1978, his brother and boss of the Catania Mafia, Giuseppe Calderone, was killed by his former close friend and protégé Nitto Santapaola. Santapaola had forged an alliance with the Corleonesi and took over the command of the Catania Mafia Family. September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Giuseppe “Pippo” Calderone (Catania, November 1, 1925 – Palermo, September 30, 1978) was an influential Sicilian mafioso from Catania. ... Corleone ...

Calderone was more and more marginalized and decided to leave Catania in 1983 fearing for his life. With his wife and three children he moved to Nice in France, where he ran a Laundromat. On May 9, 1986, he was arrested in Nice. City flag City coat of arms Motto: [1] (Latin: Nice the city) Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Région Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur Département Alpes-Maritimes (06) Intercommunality Community of Agglomeration Nice Côte dAzur Mayor Jacques Peyrat  (UMP) (since 1995... May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: [1] (Latin: Nice the city) Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Région Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur Département Alpes-Maritimes (06) Intercommunality Community of Agglomeration Nice Côte dAzur Mayor Jacques Peyrat  (UMP) (since 1995...

Pentito

While he was in the Nice prison, Calderone became convinced that he was about to be killed by other Sicilian inmates. Suddenly, he began screaming for a prison guard and demanded to see the head of the prison. He said he wanted to talk to judge Giovanni Falcone. Calderone was moved to an insane asylum for his own protection. Giovanni Falcone. ...

On April 9, 1987, Falcone Рtogether with French prosecutor Michel Debaq sat face to face with Calderone in a Marseille prison. After an initial refusal to talk, Calderone suddenly said, "I know a lot about the Mafia, because I am a member of it."^[2] Once he started, Calderone talked for almost a year. April 9 is the 99th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (100th in leap years). ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... City flag Coat of arms Motto: By her great deeds, Marseille shines in the world Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Region Provence-Alpes-C̫te dAzur Department Bouches-du-Rh̫ne (13) Subdivisions 16 arrondissements (in 8 secteurs) Intercommunality Urban Community of Marseille Provence...

Falcone flew once a week to Marseille, taking some 1,000 pages of deposition from Calderone. Calderone proved to be a remarkably accurate witness. More than 800 details were checked. On March 19, 1988, Falcone issued 160 arrest warrants on the basis of the testimony of Antonino Calderone. March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Mafia in Catania

While previous pentiti had all been from Palermo, Calderone described the grip of Cosa Nostra on Catania, the main city and industrial centre on Sicily's east coast. He testified about the relationship between the Mafia and the four Cavalieri del Lavoro (Knights of Labour)^[3] of Catania: the construction entrepreneurs Carmelo Costanzo, Francesco Finocchiaro, Mario Rendo and Gaetano Graci – who needed the mafiosi for protection. Construction sites of rival companies were bombed and at least one rival of Costanzo was assassinated.^[4] Tommaso Buscetta (in sunglasses), the first important pentito of Italian Mafia, escorted in a court of law. ... Palermo (Palermo in Italian, Palermu, Palemmu, Paliermu or Paliemmu in Sicilian) is the principal city and administrative seat of the autonomous region of Sicily, Italy as well as the capital of the Province of Palermo. ... Catania is the second largest city of Sicily and is the capital of the province which bears its name. ... Sicily (Sicilia in Italian, Sicilian and Spanish, Σικελία in Greek) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,700 km² and 5 million inhabitants. ...

Calderone also talked about the links of Cosa Nostra with law enforcement, freemasonry, judges and politicians in Catania and the Italian government. "We in Catania, when we had a problem with the judiciary, we would turn to the local Masonic head. We knew that many magistrates were lodge members and that, thanks to the local chief, we could even interfere with ongoing criminal proceedings," Calderone said. The Masonic Square and Compasses. ...

The Catanese Mafia was generally able to learn about arrest warrants before they were issued and sometimes have names crossed off the list. When they needed a false passport they turned to ‘their’ member of parliament in Rome, Giuseppe Lupis of the small Democratic Socialist Party. Lupis was one of the top vote-getters in Catania.^[5] The Italian Democratic Socialists (Italian: Socialisti Democratici Italiani), or SDI, is a small social democratic party of moderate-left policies, heir of the old Italian Socialist Party and led by Enrico Boselli. ...

According to Calderone the late 1970s were a turning point in the relationship between the Mafia and politics. The Mafia started to feel superior and politicians could not refuse requests for favours.^[6]

Testimonies

Calderone was different from previous pentiti such as Tommaso Buscetta and Salvatore Contorno. While they expressed no regret for their crimes, Calderone seemed to suffer from genuine remorse. Tommaso Buscetta (in sunglasses), the first important pentito of Italian Mafia, escorted in a court of law. ... Tommaso Buscetta (in sunglasses) is lead into court at the Maxi Trial, circa 1986. ... Mafia turncoat Salvatore Totuccio Contorno Salvatore Totuccio Contorno (Palermo, May 28, 1946) was a member of the Sicilian Mafia who turned into a state witness against Cosa Nostra in October 1984, following the example of Tommaso Buscetta. ...

As the brother of a Commission member, Calderone knew a lot about the workings of Cosa Nostra and confirmed the essential role of the Commission in the major assassinations of the 1970s and 1980s. He provided first-hand accounts of the leaders of the Corleonesi, Luciano Leggio, Totò Riina and Bernardo Provenzano. "The Corleone bosses were not educated at all, but they were cunning and diabolical," Calderone said about Riina and Provenzano. "They were both clever and ferocious, a rare combination in Cosa Nostra."^[7] The Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra. ... Corleone ... Luciano Leggio at his murder trial in 1974 Luciano Leggio (some sources spell his surname Liggio) (1925–January 16, 1993) was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. ... Salvatore Riina Salvatore Riina, also known as Totò Riina (born November 16, 1930) is one of the most infamous members of the Sicilian Mafia. ... Bernardo Provenzano in 1959, aged 26. ...

One of the more bizarre anecdotes Calderone related in his memoirs was that of Riina giving a tearful eulogy at the funeral of his murdered brother, even though Riina himself had ordered the killing. Yet, Riina's admiration for Giuseppe Calderone might have been sincere: he regretted having to have him killed, just as a president of a company regrets having to lay off a valued employee during difficult economic times.

Calderone’s most explosive revelation was about Salvo Lima, prime minister Giulio Andreotti’s chief lieutenant in Sicily, and the Salvo cousins, wealthy tax collectors on the island. He described how he and his brother conferred with Lima and the Salvo cousins to get a zealous police officer in Catania transferred. Salvatore Lima (died March 12, 1992) was an Italian politician from Sicily who was murdered by the Mafia, with whom he was alleged to have ties with. ... Giulio Andreotti Giulio Andreotti (born in Rome, 14 January 1919) is an Italian political figure, among the most powerful in post-war Italy. ...

’Mafia analyst’

Calderone testified in numerous trials, among others in the Maxi Trial appeals and in the trial against Giulio Andreotti. In 1992 he published a book with Antimafia sociologist Pino Arlacchi about his life in Cosa Nostra, that was translated in many languages. These memoirs read like a handbook for understanding Cosa Nostra and the life of a mafioso. Giovanni Falcone, one of the architects of the Maxi Trial. ... Giulio Andreotti Giulio Andreotti (born in Rome, 14 January 1919) is an Italian political figure, among the most powerful in post-war Italy. ...

After the murder of Giovanni Falcone, Calderone gave a little noticed but accurate analysis of the attack: "Such a spectacular public bombing is never in the interest of the Mafia … it is a sign of weakness." The killing had become necessary because of a series of major defeats, according to Calderone. "Falcone had been condemned to death a long time ago, but the sentence could no longer be put off for two reasons: the Supreme Court’s decision to confirm the life sentences of the bosses of the Commission … and the increasing certainty that Falcone would be super-prosecutor. As long as convictions could be overturned in Rome, there was no need to act. But a definitive life sentence unleashed a reaction of rage. The Corleonesi and the winning families lost their heads." He went on to predict that other killings would soon follow: "Cosa Nostra has a little book and for every name there is a time."^[8] Giovanni Falcone. ... The Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra. ... Corleone ...

Quotations

• Every mafioso knows perfectly well, when all is said and done, where his power comes from. People are scared of being physically hurt, and, more than that, no one wants to risk being killed.^[9]

• In a world as complicated as Cosa Nostra’s even small wrongs are remembered for years and there are thousands of tangled relationships; … grounds for suspicion and sinister hypotheses are never lacking.^[10]

• The mafioso is like a spider, building webs of friends, acquaintances, obligations.^[11]

• One goes in and comes out of Cosa Nostra with blood. You will see for yourselves, in a little while, how one enters with blood. And if you leave, you’ll leave with blood because you’ll be killed.^[12]

• Around every man of honour of a certain rank there is always a circle of twenty, thirty, youths who are nobodies wanting to become somebodies.^[13]

Biography

• Men of Dishonor. Inside the Sicilian Mafia. An Account of Antonio Calderone, (1992) by Pino Arlacchi, New York: William Morrow & Co.

References

1. ^ Arlacchi, Men of Dishonor, p. 191
2. ^ Stille, Excellent Cadavers, p. 229
3. ^ The honorary title Cavaliere del Lavoro (Knight of Labour) was granted by the Italian government as reward for special merit to the Italian economy.
4. ^ (Italian) Testimony of Antonino Calderone before the Anti-Mafia Commission, November 1992.
5. ^ Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia, p. 186; Stille, Excellent Cadavers, p. 232.
6. ^ Schneider & Schneider, Reversible Destiny, p. 69.
7. ^ Stille, Excellent Cadavers, p. 230.
8. ^ La Repubblica, May 30, 1992, in Stille, Excellent Cadavers, p. 357-58.
9. ^ Arlacchi, Men of Dishonor, p. 191
10. ^ Schneider & Schneider, Reversible Destiny, p. 81
11. ^ Arlacchi, Men of Dishonor, p. 20.
12. ^ Arlacchi, Men of Dishonor, p. 68
13. ^ Arlacchi, Men of Dishonor, p. 149

• The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private Protection (1993), Diego Gambetta, Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-80742-1
• Excellent Cadavers. The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic (1995) Alexander Stille, Vintage ISBN 0-09-959491-9
• Reversible Destiny: Mafia, Antimafia, and the Struggle for Palermo (2003) Jane T. Schneider & Peter T. Schneider, University of California Press ISBN 0-520-23609-2
• Mafia Brotherhoods: Organized Crime, Italian Style (2003) Letizia Paoli, Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-515724-9