The body of mafia boss who was believed to have ordered the killings
of more than 150 people has been transported out of prison and has
undergone an autopsy.
Mafia 'Boss of bosses' Salvatore 'Toto' Riina died in an
Italian prison on Wednesday at the age of 87, while serving 26 life sentences for his brutal crimes.
The Sicilian, nicknamed 'The Beast', succumbed to his battle with
cancer at a prison hospital in Parma shortly after being put in medically-induced coma.
Riina's widow Ninetta Bagarella, their son Salvatore Giuseppe and
their daughter Maria Concetta were all in attendance at the hospital in
Parma where his autopsy was scheduled to take place.
Dozens of media crews lined the streets outside the hospital in the hope of hearing from the bereaved family.
'God have mercy on him, as we won't,' an association for victims told the Fatto Quotidiano daily.
The most high-profile murders he ordered were those in 1992 of
anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who had worked
fearlessly to bring more than 300 mobsters to trial in 1987.
A van believed to be carrying Toto Riina's body leaves Parma hospital
where his autopsy was scheduled, in Parma, Italy, 18 November 2017
Salvator 'Toto' Riina's son Salvatore Giuseppe Riina leaves the Parma hospital after the autopsy of his father
Mafia boss Salvatore 'Toto' Riina's daughter, Maria Concetta (left)
is accompanied by her lawyer Luca Cianferoni as she arrives at Parma's
hospital
Riina was serving 26 life sentences and is believed to have ordered the killing of more that 150 men
Toto Riina's daughter Maria Concetta talks to the media outside a hospital in Parma
The body of mafia boss who was believed to have ordered the killings
of more than 150 people has been transported out of prison and has
undergone an autopsy.
Mafia 'Boss of bosses' Salvatore 'Toto' Riina died in an
Italian prison on Wednesday at the age of 87, while serving 26 life sentences for his brutal crimes.
The Sicilian, nicknamed 'The Beast', succumbed to his battle with
cancer at a prison hospital in Parma shortly after being put in medically-induced coma.
Riina's widow Ninetta Bagarella, their son Salvatore Giuseppe and
their daughter Maria Concetta were all in attendance at the hospital in
Parma where his autopsy was scheduled to take place.
Dozens of media crews lined the streets outside the hospital in the hope of hearing from the bereaved family.
'God have mercy on him, as we won't,' an association for victims told the Fatto Quotidiano daily.
The most high-profile murders he ordered were those in 1992 of
anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who had worked
fearlessly to bring more than 300 mobsters to trial in 1987.
A van believed to be carrying Toto Riina's body leaves Parma hospital
where his autopsy was scheduled, in Parma, Italy, 18 November 2017
Toto Riina's widow Ninetta Bagarella (C) with her son Salvatore
Giuseppe (R) leave Parma hospital, where the autopsy of her husband was
scheduled
Salvator 'Toto' Riina's son Salvatore Giuseppe Riina leaves the Parma hospital after the autopsy of his father
Mafia boss Salvatore 'Toto' Riina's daughter, Maria Concetta (left)
is accompanied by her lawyer Luca Cianferoni as she arrives at Parma's
hospital
Riina was serving 26 life sentences and is believed to have ordered the killing of more that 150 men
Toto Riina's daughter Maria Concetta talks to the media outside a hospital in Parma
Toto Riina's daughter, Maria Concetta (centre), accompanied by her
lawyer Luca Cianferoni (right), arrives at the Parma hospital as media
crews try to get a comment from the family
Giuseppe Di Matteo who was kidnapped was strangled and his body
dissolved in acid in a bid to stop his father from spilling Mafia
secrets
Riina ordered the killings of fearless anti-Mafia judges Giovanni Falcone (left) and Paolo Borsellino
The aftermath of the bomb which killed Judge Borsellino in 1992. Riina is believed to have first murdered aged 19
Judge Falcone was also killed by a car bomb, in Palermo, Sicily, in
1992. Riina becamea foot soldier for volatile and vain boss Luciano
Leggio, before taking over from him
The body of mafia boss who was believed to have ordered the killings
of more than 150 people has been transported out of prison and has
undergone an autopsy.
Mafia 'Boss of bosses' Salvatore 'Toto' Riina died in an
Italian prison on Wednesday at the age of 87, while serving 26 life sentences for his brutal crimes.
The Sicilian, nicknamed 'The Beast', succumbed to his battle with
cancer at a prison hospital in Parma shortly after being put in medically-induced coma.
Riina's widow Ninetta Bagarella, their son Salvatore Giuseppe and
their daughter Maria Concetta were all in attendance at the hospital in
Parma where his autopsy was scheduled to take place.
Dozens of media crews lined the streets outside the hospital in the hope of hearing from the bereaved family.
'God have mercy on him, as we won't,' an association for victims told the Fatto Quotidiano daily.
The most high-profile murders he ordered were those in 1992 of
anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who had worked
fearlessly to bring more than 300 mobsters to trial in 1987.
A van believed to be carrying Toto Riina's body leaves Parma hospital
where his autopsy was scheduled, in Parma, Italy, 18 November 2017
Toto Riina's widow Ninetta Bagarella (C) with her son Salvatore
Giuseppe (R) leave Parma hospital, where the autopsy of her husband was
scheduled
Salvator 'Toto' Riina's son Salvatore Giuseppe Riina leaves the Parma hospital after the autopsy of his father
Mafia boss Salvatore 'Toto' Riina's daughter, Maria Concetta (left)
is accompanied by her lawyer Luca Cianferoni as she arrives at Parma's
hospital
Riina was serving 26 life sentences and is believed to have ordered the killing of more that 150 men
Toto Riina's daughter Maria Concetta talks to the media outside a hospital in Parma
Toto Riina's daughter, Maria Concetta (centre), accompanied by her
lawyer Luca Cianferoni (right), arrives at the Parma hospital as media
crews try to get a comment from the family
Giuseppe Di Matteo who was kidnapped was strangled and his body
dissolved in acid in a bid to stop his father from spilling Mafia
secrets
Riina ordered the killings of fearless anti-Mafia judges Giovanni Falcone (left) and Paolo Borsellino
The aftermath of the bomb which killed Judge Borsellino in 1992. Riina is believed to have first murdered aged 19
Judge Falcone was also killed by a car bomb, in Palermo, Sicily, in
1992. Riina becamea foot soldier for volatile and vain boss Luciano
Leggio, before taking over from him
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano looks at the remains of a police
car destroyed during of the assassination of top judge Giovanni Falcone
during a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the murder
His reign of terror continued from behind bars and he also famously
ordered the brutal murder of a 13-year old boy Giuseppe Di Matteo who
was kidnapped was strangled and his body dissolved in acid in a bid to
stop his father from spilling Mafia secrets.
The boys father Santino Di Matteo made a desperate trip to Sicily to
try to negotiate his son's release but on January 11, 1996 after 779
days, the boy, who by now had also become physically ill due to
mistreatment, was finally strangled.
The body was subsequently dissolved in a barrel of acid to prevent
the family holding a proper funeral at which they could mourn and to
destroy evidence, a practice known as the 'lupara bianca'.
One of his life sentences was for ordering the hit, known as the
'Lazio Street Massacre', in which five people were gunned down in
Palermo shootout.
Riina also planned a hit on Rudolph Giuliani, when the former mayor of New York was a state prosecutor in the 1980s.
Giuliani, a second generation Italian immigrant, went on to become
the city's mayor and a national hero for his work combatting organised
crime.
Riina, who was also dubbed 'U Curtu' ('Shorty') due to his
5-foot-2-inch (1.58) height, for years denied all links to the Mafia,
nicknamed 'the octopus' for its tentacled reach into all areas of
society.
Salvatore Riina when he was arrested for the death of Judge Giovanni Falcone
The body of mafia boss who was believed to have ordered the killings
of more than 150 people has been transported out of prison and has
undergone an autopsy.
Mafia 'Boss of bosses' Salvatore 'Toto' Riina died in an
Italian prison on Wednesday at the age of 87, while serving 26 life sentences for his brutal crimes.
The Sicilian, nicknamed 'The Beast', succumbed to his battle with
cancer at a prison hospital in Parma shortly after being put in medically-induced coma.
Riina's widow Ninetta Bagarella, their son Salvatore Giuseppe and
their daughter Maria Concetta were all in attendance at the hospital in
Parma where his autopsy was scheduled to take place.
Dozens of media crews lined the streets outside the hospital in the hope of hearing from the bereaved family.
'God have mercy on him, as we won't,' an association for victims told the Fatto Quotidiano daily.
The most high-profile murders he ordered were those in 1992 of
anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who had worked
fearlessly to bring more than 300 mobsters to trial in 1987.
A van believed to be carrying Toto Riina's body leaves Parma hospital
where his autopsy was scheduled, in Parma, Italy, 18 November 2017
Toto Riina's widow Ninetta Bagarella (C) with her son Salvatore
Giuseppe (R) leave Parma hospital, where the autopsy of her husband was
scheduled
Salvator 'Toto' Riina's son Salvatore Giuseppe Riina leaves the Parma hospital after the autopsy of his father
Mafia boss Salvatore 'Toto' Riina's daughter, Maria Concetta (left)
is accompanied by her lawyer Luca Cianferoni as she arrives at Parma's
hospital
Riina was serving 26 life sentences and is believed to have ordered the killing of more that 150 men
Toto Riina's daughter Maria Concetta talks to the media outside a hospital in Parma
Toto Riina's daughter, Maria Concetta (centre), accompanied by her
lawyer Luca Cianferoni (right), arrives at the Parma hospital as media
crews try to get a comment from the family
Giuseppe Di Matteo who was kidnapped was strangled and his body
dissolved in acid in a bid to stop his father from spilling Mafia
secrets
Riina ordered the killings of fearless anti-Mafia judges Giovanni Falcone (left) and Paolo Borsellino
The aftermath of the bomb which killed Judge Borsellino in 1992. Riina is believed to have first murdered aged 19
Judge Falcone was also killed by a car bomb, in Palermo, Sicily, in
1992. Riina becamea foot soldier for volatile and vain boss Luciano
Leggio, before taking over from him
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano looks at the remains of a police
car destroyed during of the assassination of top judge Giovanni Falcone
during a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the murder
His reign of terror continued from behind bars and he also famously
ordered the brutal murder of a 13-year old boy Giuseppe Di Matteo who
was kidnapped was strangled and his body dissolved in acid in a bid to
stop his father from spilling Mafia secrets.
The boys father Santino Di Matteo made a desperate trip to Sicily to
try to negotiate his son's release but on January 11, 1996 after 779
days, the boy, who by now had also become physically ill due to
mistreatment, was finally strangled.
The body was subsequently dissolved in a barrel of acid to prevent
the family holding a proper funeral at which they could mourn and to
destroy evidence, a practice known as the 'lupara bianca'.
One of his life sentences was for ordering the hit, known as the
'Lazio Street Massacre', in which five people were gunned down in
Palermo shootout.
Riina also planned a hit on Rudolph Giuliani, when the former mayor of New York was a state prosecutor in the 1980s.
Giuliani, a second generation Italian immigrant, went on to become
the city's mayor and a national hero for his work combatting organised
crime.
Riina, who was also dubbed 'U Curtu' ('Shorty') due to his
5-foot-2-inch (1.58) height, for years denied all links to the Mafia,
nicknamed 'the octopus' for its tentacled reach into all areas of
society.
Salvatore Riina when he was arrested for the death of Judge Giovanni Falcone
Salvatore 'Toto' Riina in court during a preliminary hearing in Palermo, Sicily, Italy in 1993
Italy's high court caused outrage earlier this year when they ruled
that Riina 'deserved to die with dignity' in his own home as he fought
terminal cancer
In 2009 he broke the Mafia code of 'omerta' – a vow of silence – and
surprised those who thought he would take his secrets to the grave by
admitting his link to the mob.
He was caught on a wiretap earlier this year saying he 'regrets
nothing' and 'they'll never break me, even if they give me 3,000 years'
in jail.
He is believed to have first murdered for the Mafia aged 19 and
followed that a year later by killing a man during an argument – landing
him behind bars for a six-year manslaughter stretch.
Once out, he became a foot soldier for volatile and vain boss Luciano
Leggio, eventually taking over from him at the end of the 1970s when
the cigar-puffing fugitive was caught and jailed.
Riina went on the run himself in 1969, but continued to lead the
Corleonesi clan from hiding, increasing his influence by bumping off
rivals such as Filippo Marchese, a hitman who garroted his victims in a
'room of death'.
The mobster would elude police efforts to snare him for almost a
quarter of a century – without ever leaving Sicily – and took charge of
Cosa Nostra's key businesses, from drug trafficking to kidnapping and
racketeering.
The body of mafia boss who was believed to have ordered the killings
of more than 150 people has been transported out of prison and has
undergone an autopsy.
Mafia 'Boss of bosses' Salvatore 'Toto' Riina died in an
Italian prison on Wednesday at the age of 87, while serving 26 life sentences for his brutal crimes.
The Sicilian, nicknamed 'The Beast', succumbed to his battle with
cancer at a prison hospital in Parma shortly after being put in medically-induced coma.
Riina's widow Ninetta Bagarella, their son Salvatore Giuseppe and
their daughter Maria Concetta were all in attendance at the hospital in
Parma where his autopsy was scheduled to take place.
Dozens of media crews lined the streets outside the hospital in the hope of hearing from the bereaved family.
'God have mercy on him, as we won't,' an association for victims told the Fatto Quotidiano daily.
The most high-profile murders he ordered were those in 1992 of
anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who had worked
fearlessly to bring more than 300 mobsters to trial in 1987.
A van believed to be carrying Toto Riina's body leaves Parma hospital
where his autopsy was scheduled, in Parma, Italy, 18 November 2017
Toto Riina's widow Ninetta Bagarella (C) with her son Salvatore
Giuseppe (R) leave Parma hospital, where the autopsy of her husband was
scheduled
Salvator 'Toto' Riina's son Salvatore Giuseppe Riina leaves the Parma hospital after the autopsy of his father
Mafia boss Salvatore 'Toto' Riina's daughter, Maria Concetta (left)
is accompanied by her lawyer Luca Cianferoni as she arrives at Parma's
hospital
Riina was serving 26 life sentences and is believed to have ordered the killing of more that 150 men
Toto Riina's daughter Maria Concetta talks to the media outside a hospital in Parma
Toto Riina's daughter, Maria Concetta (centre), accompanied by her
lawyer Luca Cianferoni (right), arrives at the Parma hospital as media
crews try to get a comment from the family
Giuseppe Di Matteo who was kidnapped was strangled and his body
dissolved in acid in a bid to stop his father from spilling Mafia
secrets
Riina ordered the killings of fearless anti-Mafia judges Giovanni Falcone (left) and Paolo Borsellino
The aftermath of the bomb which killed Judge Borsellino in 1992. Riina is believed to have first murdered aged 19
Judge Falcone was also killed by a car bomb, in Palermo, Sicily, in
1992. Riina becamea foot soldier for volatile and vain boss Luciano
Leggio, before taking over from him
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano looks at the remains of a police
car destroyed during of the assassination of top judge Giovanni Falcone
during a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the murder
His reign of terror continued from behind bars and he also famously
ordered the brutal murder of a 13-year old boy Giuseppe Di Matteo who
was kidnapped was strangled and his body dissolved in acid in a bid to
stop his father from spilling Mafia secrets.
The boys father Santino Di Matteo made a desperate trip to Sicily to
try to negotiate his son's release but on January 11, 1996 after 779
days, the boy, who by now had also become physically ill due to
mistreatment, was finally strangled.
The body was subsequently dissolved in a barrel of acid to prevent
the family holding a proper funeral at which they could mourn and to
destroy evidence, a practice known as the 'lupara bianca'.
One of his life sentences was for ordering the hit, known as the
'Lazio Street Massacre', in which five people were gunned down in
Palermo shootout.
Riina also planned a hit on Rudolph Giuliani, when the former mayor of New York was a state prosecutor in the 1980s.
Giuliani, a second generation Italian immigrant, went on to become
the city's mayor and a national hero for his work combatting organised
crime.
Riina, who was also dubbed 'U Curtu' ('Shorty') due to his
5-foot-2-inch (1.58) height, for years denied all links to the Mafia,
nicknamed 'the octopus' for its tentacled reach into all areas of
society.
Salvatore Riina when he was arrested for the death of Judge Giovanni Falcone
Salvatore 'Toto' Riina in court during a preliminary hearing in Palermo, Sicily, Italy in 1993
Italy's high court caused outrage earlier this year when they ruled
that Riina 'deserved to die with dignity' in his own home as he fought
terminal cancer
In 2009 he broke the Mafia code of 'omerta' – a vow of silence – and
surprised those who thought he would take his secrets to the grave by
admitting his link to the mob.
He was caught on a wiretap earlier this year saying he 'regrets
nothing' and 'they'll never break me, even if they give me 3,000 years'
in jail.
He is believed to have first murdered for the Mafia aged 19 and
followed that a year later by killing a man during an argument – landing
him behind bars for a six-year manslaughter stretch.
Once out, he became a foot soldier for volatile and vain boss Luciano
Leggio, eventually taking over from him at the end of the 1970s when
the cigar-puffing fugitive was caught and jailed.
Riina went on the run himself in 1969, but continued to lead the
Corleonesi clan from hiding, increasing his influence by bumping off
rivals such as Filippo Marchese, a hitman who garroted his victims in a
'room of death'.
The mobster would elude police efforts to snare him for almost a
quarter of a century – without ever leaving Sicily – and took charge of
Cosa Nostra's key businesses, from drug trafficking to kidnapping and
racketeering.
Rudolph Giuliani pictured in 1987 with his prosecutors (from left to
right) John Savarese, Michael Chertoff and Gil Childers in New York
His bloody victory in the Mafia War of the 1980s was to prove his
undoing however, as mobsters from defeated rival families began turning
state witness against him, and police tracked him to a house in Palermo.
The justice ministry had allowed his family a bedside visit at a hospital in Parma shortly before his death.
Earlier this year, Italy's highest court ruled that due to Riina's
terminal illness, he had a right to 'die with dignity' under house
arrest like any other terminally ill prisoner.
The decision drew fierce criticism from across the Italy's political spectrum and wider society.
The decision was left with a parole board in the northern city of
Bologna, near Parma, where Riina was being held, but failed to make a
ruling before his death on Wednesday.
The mobster was married to Antonietta Bagarella, a teacher from a
mafioso family. He was father to four children, one of whom is behind
bars for four murders.
'You're not Toto Riina to me, you're just my dad. And I wish you
happy birthday dad on this sad but important day, I love you,' one son,
Salvo, wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
Giuseppe Salvatore Riina, the son of the late mafia boss, waves as he
leaves his mother's house in Corleone, southern Italy (left) and is
pictured (right) leaving prison in 2008
Giovanni, Riina's eldest son, followed in his father's footsteps and is now serving a life sentence in jail.
His other son, also a mobster, last year sparked outrage in Italy by
giving an interview in which he described his childhood as 'nice' and
refused to denounce the mob.
Salvo has written a book about growing up as the son of Italy's most
wanted man, Salvatore 'Toto' Riina, and appeared on RAI's premier
talkshow to promote it.
But not once during the interview did Riina criticise his father, and
he refused to acknowledge the existence of the mafia, saying
cryptically: 'It could be everything or it could be nothing'.
'The Beast's' other son, Giuseppe, is confined by law to the city of Padua.
Riina, due to his famed secrecy, is an enigmatic figure in Italian
society. That has not stopped film makers from trying to dramatize his
life on the silver screen.
In 1999, HBO produced the television film 'Excellent Cadavers' staring Victor Cavallo as Riina.
In 2007, Italian film makers produced a six-part miniseries on Riina based on his life and crimes.
Is superboss Riina's death the end of the Sicilian Mafia?
The body of mafia boss who was believed to have ordered the killings
of more than 150 people has been transported out of prison and has
undergone an autopsy.
Mafia 'Boss of bosses' Salvatore 'Toto' Riina died in an
Italian prison on Wednesday at the age of 87, while serving 26 life sentences for his brutal crimes.
The Sicilian, nicknamed 'The Beast', succumbed to his battle with
cancer at a prison hospital in Parma shortly after being put in medically-induced coma.
Riina's widow Ninetta Bagarella, their son Salvatore Giuseppe and
their daughter Maria Concetta were all in attendance at the hospital in
Parma where his autopsy was scheduled to take place.
Dozens of media crews lined the streets outside the hospital in the hope of hearing from the bereaved family.
'God have mercy on him, as we won't,' an association for victims told the Fatto Quotidiano daily.
The most high-profile murders he ordered were those in 1992 of
anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who had worked
fearlessly to bring more than 300 mobsters to trial in 1987.
A van believed to be carrying Toto Riina's body leaves Parma hospital
where his autopsy was scheduled, in Parma, Italy, 18 November 2017
Toto Riina's widow Ninetta Bagarella (C) with her son Salvatore
Giuseppe (R) leave Parma hospital, where the autopsy of her husband was
scheduled
Salvator 'Toto' Riina's son Salvatore Giuseppe Riina leaves the Parma hospital after the autopsy of his father
Mafia boss Salvatore 'Toto' Riina's daughter, Maria Concetta (left)
is accompanied by her lawyer Luca Cianferoni as she arrives at Parma's
hospital
Riina was serving 26 life sentences and is believed to have ordered the killing of more that 150 men
Toto Riina's daughter Maria Concetta talks to the media outside a hospital in Parma
Toto Riina's daughter, Maria Concetta (centre), accompanied by her
lawyer Luca Cianferoni (right), arrives at the Parma hospital as media
crews try to get a comment from the family
Giuseppe Di Matteo who was kidnapped was strangled and his body
dissolved in acid in a bid to stop his father from spilling Mafia
secrets
Riina ordered the killings of fearless anti-Mafia judges Giovanni Falcone (left) and Paolo Borsellino
The aftermath of the bomb which killed Judge Borsellino in 1992. Riina is believed to have first murdered aged 19
Judge Falcone was also killed by a car bomb, in Palermo, Sicily, in
1992. Riina becamea foot soldier for volatile and vain boss Luciano
Leggio, before taking over from him
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano looks at the remains of a police
car destroyed during of the assassination of top judge Giovanni Falcone
during a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the murder
His reign of terror continued from behind bars and he also famously
ordered the brutal murder of a 13-year old boy Giuseppe Di Matteo who
was kidnapped was strangled and his body dissolved in acid in a bid to
stop his father from spilling Mafia secrets.
The boys father Santino Di Matteo made a desperate trip to Sicily to
try to negotiate his son's release but on January 11, 1996 after 779
days, the boy, who by now had also become physically ill due to
mistreatment, was finally strangled.
The body was subsequently dissolved in a barrel of acid to prevent
the family holding a proper funeral at which they could mourn and to
destroy evidence, a practice known as the 'lupara bianca'.
One of his life sentences was for ordering the hit, known as the
'Lazio Street Massacre', in which five people were gunned down in
Palermo shootout.
Riina also planned a hit on Rudolph Giuliani, when the former mayor of New York was a state prosecutor in the 1980s.
Giuliani, a second generation Italian immigrant, went on to become
the city's mayor and a national hero for his work combatting organised
crime.
Riina, who was also dubbed 'U Curtu' ('Shorty') due to his
5-foot-2-inch (1.58) height, for years denied all links to the Mafia,
nicknamed 'the octopus' for its tentacled reach into all areas of
society.
Salvatore Riina when he was arrested for the death of Judge Giovanni Falcone
Salvatore 'Toto' Riina in court during a preliminary hearing in Palermo, Sicily, Italy in 1993
Italy's high court caused outrage earlier this year when they ruled
that Riina 'deserved to die with dignity' in his own home as he fought
terminal cancer
In 2009 he broke the Mafia code of 'omerta' – a vow of silence – and
surprised those who thought he would take his secrets to the grave by
admitting his link to the mob.
He was caught on a wiretap earlier this year saying he 'regrets
nothing' and 'they'll never break me, even if they give me 3,000 years'
in jail.
He is believed to have first murdered for the Mafia aged 19 and
followed that a year later by killing a man during an argument – landing
him behind bars for a six-year manslaughter stretch.
Once out, he became a foot soldier for volatile and vain boss Luciano
Leggio, eventually taking over from him at the end of the 1970s when
the cigar-puffing fugitive was caught and jailed.
Riina went on the run himself in 1969, but continued to lead the
Corleonesi clan from hiding, increasing his influence by bumping off
rivals such as Filippo Marchese, a hitman who garroted his victims in a
'room of death'.
The mobster would elude police efforts to snare him for almost a
quarter of a century – without ever leaving Sicily – and took charge of
Cosa Nostra's key businesses, from drug trafficking to kidnapping and
racketeering.
Rudolph Giuliani pictured in 1987 with his prosecutors (from left to
right) John Savarese, Michael Chertoff and Gil Childers in New York
His bloody victory in the Mafia War of the 1980s was to prove his
undoing however, as mobsters from defeated rival families began turning
state witness against him, and police tracked him to a house in Palermo.
The justice ministry had allowed his family a bedside visit at a hospital in Parma shortly before his death.
Earlier this year, Italy's highest court ruled that due to Riina's
terminal illness, he had a right to 'die with dignity' under house
arrest like any other terminally ill prisoner.
The decision drew fierce criticism from across the Italy's political spectrum and wider society.
The decision was left with a parole board in the northern city of
Bologna, near Parma, where Riina was being held, but failed to make a
ruling before his death on Wednesday.
The mobster was married to Antonietta Bagarella, a teacher from a
mafioso family. He was father to four children, one of whom is behind
bars for four murders.
'You're not Toto Riina to me, you're just my dad. And I wish you
happy birthday dad on this sad but important day, I love you,' one son,
Salvo, wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
Giuseppe Salvatore Riina, the son of the late mafia boss, waves as he
leaves his mother's house in Corleone, southern Italy (left) and is
pictured (right) leaving prison in 2008
Giovanni, Riina's eldest son, followed in his father's footsteps and is now serving a life sentence in jail.
His other son, also a mobster, last year sparked outrage in Italy by
giving an interview in which he described his childhood as 'nice' and
refused to denounce the mob.
Salvo has written a book about growing up as the son of Italy's most
wanted man, Salvatore 'Toto' Riina, and appeared on RAI's premier
talkshow to promote it.
But not once during the interview did Riina criticise his father, and
he refused to acknowledge the existence of the mafia, saying
cryptically: 'It could be everything or it could be nothing'.
'The Beast's' other son, Giuseppe, is confined by law to the city of Padua.
Riina, due to his famed secrecy, is an enigmatic figure in Italian
society. That has not stopped film makers from trying to dramatize his
life on the silver screen.
In 1999, HBO produced the television film 'Excellent Cadavers' staring Victor Cavallo as Riina.
In 2007, Italian film makers produced a six-part miniseries on Riina based on his life and crimes.
Is superboss Riina's death the end of the Sicilian Mafia?
With Mafia king Toto Riina's death, and heir Matteo Messina Denaro on
the run, is it game over for Sicily's once all-powerful Cosa Nostra?
'Boss of bosses' Riina, who was nicknamed 'The Beast' because of his
cruelty, led a reign of terror including the brutal daylight
assassinations of anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo
Borsellino.
He died Friday aged 87, just months after being caught on wiretaps in jail boasting afresh about his bloody crimes.
'Riina will go down in history as the man who destroyed Cosa Nostra,' Mafia expert Attilio Bolzoni said.
'With his strategy of bloody massacres in Sicily and across Italy… he
turned an invisible Mafia visible, with hundreds, thousands of murders,
carried out first with Kalashnikovs, then bombs.'
'For the first time in history, the state reacted mercilessly,'
Bolzoni said, with the arrest of hundreds of bosses and the introduction
of harsh anti-mafia laws that saw imprisoned gangsters held in utter
isolation.
Caught and jailed in 1993 after nearly a quarter of a decade as a
fugitive, his revenge was swift: Cosa Nostra launched a series of
bombings in Rome, Milan and Florence that killed 10 people.
But he was unable to stop the decimation of the crime group – once
nicknamed 'the octopus' for its tentacled reach into all areas of
society – which was gradually supplanted by the Camorra in Naples and
'Ndrangheta in Calabria.
'An absolute monarchy'
'It's infinitely less powerful than before. After the deaths of (boss
Bernardo) Provenzano and Riina, the only one at liberty is being hunted
by the police,' the head of Italy's national anti-mafia body, Maurizio
De Lucia, told AFP.
Multi-murderer playboy Messina Denaro, one of the world's most-wanted
men, is seen by many as Riina's natural heir but has been on the run
since 1993.
'Cosa Nostra is a very strictly structured organisation, similar to
an absolute monarchy. While the king still lives, it's not possible to
think of picking a successor,' De Lucia said.
'The question now is whether the organisation is strong enough to
identify and appoint an heir. Many of its bosses have been arrested, and
enormous amounts of its patrimony has been seized' over the years, he
said.
'We'll have to see whether Riina's death will lead to a new start –
which I think unlikely – or whether it will be another step towards the
crime group's demise,' he said.
'The truth'
But prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio, who spent 20 years in the DDA
organisation of anti-mafia prosecutors, warned the days of shootouts and
car bombs may be gone, but Cosa Nostra has been growing fat instead on
political deals.
'We have greatly weakened the military apparatus of the Mafia, the
massacres are over, murders are rare. But the Mafia has undergone a
genetic modification,' Cartosio told AFP.
'The political sector has lent itself greatly to… (organised crime's)
infiltration of the social fabric' and, as a consequence, 'the Mafia
presence in the political sphere is much greater than before,' he said.
And the battle is not only against 'the octopus' but also the
'Stidda', a rival group formed by former Cosa Nostra members during the
Second Mafia War of the early 1980s.
'The Mafia is less military, less bloody than before, but it's very efficient,' he said.
Pietro Grasso, Italy's senate speaker and a former anti-mafia magistrate, stressed Friday that the battle is not over.
'Riina takes with him many mysteries that would have been essential
in uncovering the facts about alliances, political links, internal and
external Mafia accomplices,' he said in a post on Facebook.
'But none of us must stop searching for the truth'.
SOURCE:https://buzznews.co.uk/
Justgiving
JustGiving
