Salvatore Riina (Toto Riina) is an Italian Sicilian mafia. The criminal life of Salvatore Riina

Salvatore "Toto" Riina since the 1970s and until his arrest in 1993 was the boss of a mafia clan from the Sicilian town of Corleone. He was known as a ruthless and cruel man, who was called only the Beast. Riina in his time was considered capo del capi Sicilian mafia and was involved in more than a thousand murders.

A peasant from Corleone

Salvatore Riina was born in Corleone on November 16, 1930. Even as a teenager, he joined a local mafia group, which was then ruled by a respected local doctor, Michele Navarre.

The criminal life of Toto Riina began with the entry into the detachment, whose head was Luciano Leggio. In 1949, Toto received orders to kill a man named Domenico DeMateo; It was his first victim. For this crime, Salvatore was arrested and imprisoned for 6 years.

After leaving the prison, he returned to his old village and engaged in smuggling cigarettes, stealing livestock and extortion. In those years, bandits from richer and more influential clans scornfully called the members of the Ledge group "peasants." This nickname was dear to everyone who had once said it. In the mid-1950s, Luciano Leggio and his team became less dependent on the supreme boss Michele Navarre. Between them, the tension grew, and Navarre decided to eliminate the rebellious "lieutenant." In the summer of 1958, an unsuccessful attempt was made to kill Lego, who only fanned his fury.

A couple of weeks after the unsuccessful attempt, Luciano Legjo and his people struck back. The detachment of the murderers included Salvatore Riina and Bernardo Provenzano. On August 2, 1958, Navarre and another doctor drove home when they were hit by machine-gun fire from an ambush. The car was riddled with bullets, which resulted in the death of both Navarra and his companion. In the following weeks and months, several of Navarre's most devoted people were destroyed, and Lejo took the Corleone clan under his control.

"Corleonezi" led by Leggio

Representatives of the group from Corleone became famous as cruel criminals, killing all who stood in their way. Policemen drew attention to the increase in violence and calculated the person responsible for the bloodshed. Soon, Riina, Provenzano and Lego were put on the wanted list. At about the same time, Legjo joined the supporters of Salvatore Greco, who led the war against Angelo Barber, the leader of the hostile mafia structure. These events went down in history as the First War of the Sicilian Mafia. In December 1962, by the order of Barber, Calcedonio Di Pisa was murdered, who was accused of stealing heroin from a party destined for dispatch to New York. In response, Greco ordered the murder of Salvatore Barber. The murders lasted until 1963, when Angelo Barbera was arrested. However, this war forced the government to organize a large-scale operation against the mafia, as a result of which hundreds of people were imprisoned. In 1964, Lejo and Riina were taken into custody, but they managed to intimidate jurors and witnesses. A little later, Riiin was released and again went underground. For the next 23 years he remained a ghost.

By 1969, when Lejo came out, much has changed in the Mafia structure. The copula, formed in 1957 by Joseph Bonanno, by this time included only three original members: Gaetano Badalamenti, Stefano Bontade and Luciano Legjo. At meetings instead of his boss was often present his deputy Salvatore Riina. In the same year, the murder of Michele Cavatayo, a former member of the copula and leader of the Aquascant clan, was organized. One of his killers was Riina. After this, the bandits from Corleone extended their power to Palermo, the center of the Sicilian mafia.

Mattanza, 1981-1983

Hidden in Milan, Ledjo was arrested in 1974 after the police established an audition of his phone. Even from prison, he continued to manage his affairs through Toto Riina and Bernardo Provenzano, who among the fellow Mafiosi were known as Le belve, or "wild beasts." Riina began to gather allies throughout Sicily in order to destroy his rivals. Among these rivals were the members of the copula Gaetano Badalamenti and Stefano Bontade, as well as Salvatore Incerillo and Tommaso Bushetta. The second mafia war is usually called Mattanza, a term for tuna fishing in Sicily. The catalyst for the growth of violence was the removal of Gaetano Badalamenti from the post of head of the Sicilian Mafia. Riina accused Badalamenti of appropriating money from the sale of drugs, as a result of which the latter had to flee to America. Another reason for the outbreak of the war was the 1978 murder of Giuseppe DiCristina, a colleague of Salvatore Incerillo. It was clear that Riina was aiming for the seizure of supreme power in the Sicilian mafia and complete control over drug trafficking.

In 1980, Tomaso Bushetta left prison and went to Brazil not to get involved in the war. A year later, Stefano Bontade was killed, and another two weeks later, shot by Intserillo. Thus, the main enemies of the bandits from Corleone were eliminated. However, Riina did not stop there and consistently killed all of their relatives and friends. For example, Salvatore Contorno lost 35 family members. As a result, the Sicilian Mafiosi Kontorno was afraid of his whole life and decided on the only kind of revenge, becoming a federal witness.

Cadaveri eccelenti (Luminous Corpses)

As the "Corleonezas" gained power and wealth, their ability to influence the government also grew. Politicians often collaborate with the mafia, and those who refuse are quickly removed. For example, in 1971 prosecutor Pietro Scallione was killed after visiting his wife's grave. He was close to Vito Chanchimino, who later becomes the mayor of Palermo and will carry out the orders of Riina. In September 1982, the mafia again demonstrated that it can eliminate any person, and she will not get anything for it. Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, an Italian general who was in Sicily, was hunted down to track down the Mafiosi and finish Mattanza. After that, no one dared challenge the criminals until Giovanni Falcone appeared . At first, he practically did not get help from his colleagues, because everyone was afraid of being killed by the mafia. After some time, the big mafiosi Tomaso Bushetta decided to give evidence to punish "Corleonezi", who killed all his relatives.

Bushetta was one of the most senior representatives of organized crime who ever gave testimony; He uncovered many internal details of the work of the mafia and pointed to many people involved in Mattanza. Thanks to the vast amount of information received, in 1986 Falcone was able to bring the case to hearings before the Supreme Court. Before the start of the trial, the police tracked down several Mafiosi to hold them accountable. However, Toto Riina and his deputy Bernardo Provenzano remained at large. Bushetta became the main witness and sent many of his old comrades-in-arms and enemies to prison. After the trial Falcone realized that he was in danger, and spent his last years surrounded by bodyguards.

The murder of Falcone

In 1992, Salvatore Riina was able to reach Falcone. The order for its destruction was given to Giovanni Brusca, belonging to the old mafia dynasty and devoted to his boss. On May 23, 1992, Bruska and his men planted a bomb on one of the sections of the motorway leading to the airport of Palermo. Falcone and his wife rode in an armored Fiat, accompanied by several policemen. Bruska and his men were waiting for them at some distance from the road. They waited for the right moment and, when Falcone's car approached the bomb, led the explosive device into action. Several cars were destroyed, including the Falcone car, as well as a large section of the road. Falconet, his wife and three policemen died instantly. After this, Riina aimed at destroying Paolo Borsellino. Just a month later Borsellino was killed near his house as a result of an explosion of a mined car. The death of these two human rights defenders has enraged the people, who are tired of enduring unceasing violence and experiencing a constant fear of the bandits from Corleone.

Arrest and trial

Under the pressure of the people, the carabinieri had to make every effort to catch Toto Riina. On January 15, 1993, he was arrested directly on the street, pulled out of his own car. On the whereabouts of Toto reported his personal driver, Baldassare Di Maggio. They say that during the arrest, Riina shouted at the carabinieri: Communista! In court Toto claimed that he is an innocent accountant and has no idea what is the most wanted criminal of Italy in the last three decades. Soon the news of the capture of Riin appeared in the newspapers. The surprise was that the head of the Mafia had lived all these years in Palermo, who had never been seen or identified. In 1974, he even spent his honeymoon in Venice, and nobody knew about it. Most likely, people simply had no idea how he looked after many years on the run.

Riina was already sentenced in absentia to two life sentences on charges of more than 100 crimes, including the murders of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. In 1998, he was sentenced to another life sentence for the murder of Salvo Lim, a corrupt politician closely associated with Corleonezi. Currently, the failed "Don Corleone" Toto Riina is in a strict regime prison on the island of Sardinia. In 2003, it was reported that in May and December he suffered two heart attacks.

The Legacy of Salvatore Riina

After the departure of Toto, Bernardo Provenzano took over the reins. Under his leadership, the mafia became more calm, and violence was significantly reduced. Nevertheless, Provenzano was a murderer, and the police were looking for him. It was possible to arrest him only in 2006.

Giovanni and Giuseppe Riiina, the sons of Toto Riin, whose biography is unlikely to be an example to follow, nevertheless followed in the footsteps of his father and were convicted of various crimes. Riina's family owned a large number of properties throughout Sicily, but after the arrest of the head of the family, the government confiscated much. Villa, which was his last refuge, moved to the Association Peppino Impastato (Peppino Impashato all his life struggled against the mafia and was killed in 1978). Another villa in 1997 was given to public use and became an institution.

Toto Riina is still considered one of the most vicious and cruel mafia bosses.