Cesare Manzella (; December 18, 1897 – April 26, 1963) was a traditional Mafia capo, who sat on the first

Sicilian Mafia Commission The Sicilian Mafia Commission (Italian: ''Commissione provinciale''), known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Sicilian Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicili ...

. He was the head of the Mafia family in

Cinisi Cinisi (; scn, Cìnisi ) is a town and a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in Sicily. As of 1 January 2022 it has a population of 11.846. Geography The town is part of the Palermo metropolitan area, borders with the municipalities ...

, a small seaside town near the

Punta Raisi Airport Falcone Borsellino Airport ( it, link=no, Aeroporto Falcone Borsellino) or simply Palermo Airport, formerly Punta Raisi Airport, is an international airport located at Cinisi, west northwest of Palermo, the capital city of the Italian island ...

. As the airport was in their territory it was an invaluable asset for the import and export of contraband, including narcotics. His deputy was

Gaetano Badalamenti Gaetano Badalamenti (; 14 September 1923 – 29 April 2004) was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. ''Don Tano'' Badalamenti was the capofamiglia of his hometown Cinisi, Sicily, and headed the Sicilian Mafia Commission in the 1970s. In 198 ...

.Shawcross & Young, ''Men Of Honour'', p. 56

Expelled from the US

After a stay in the United States, where he had spent many years organising gambling houses in Chicago, Manzella settled back in Cinisi after he was expelled by US authorities in 1947. In Cinisi he owned an extensive citrus plantation. Manzella was described as a “violent and bullying individual”, by the local

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

. “He is cunning and has a well-developed organisational ability, which enables him to enjoy an undisputed ascendancy over local criminals and mafiosi.” Gambetta, ''The Sicilian Mafia'', p. 237-39 Not only in Cinisi, but also in the surrounding communities

Carini Carini ( la, Hyccara or Hyccarum, grc, Ὕκαρα and Ὕκαρον) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, by rail west-northwest of Palermo. It has a population of 37,752. History Timaeus, in the thirteent ...

, Torretta,

Terrasini Terrasini is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo on the island of Sicily in Italy. Data Terrasini is located west of Palermo at the motorway between Palermo and Trapani, between the mountains and the Gulf of Castellam ...

Partinico Partinico ( Sicilian: ''Partinicu'', Ancient Greek: ''Parthenikòn'', Παρθενικόν) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. It is from Palermo and from Trapani. Main sights *Church of ''S ...

Borgetto Borgetto ( Sicilian: ''Lu Burgettu'') is a small mountain Italian town of the Metropolitan City of Palermo in Sicily. As of 2012 Borgetto had an estimated population of 7,394. The town overlooks the northern coastline of Sicily. History The o ...

and

Camporeale Camporeale ( Sicilian: ''Campuriali'') is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about southwest of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,652 and an area of .All ...

. He was a member of the first

that was established in 1958. Manzella loved to show off as a benefactor. As he strolled down the narrow streets of Cinisi, wearing his wide-brimmed American-style hat, he would hand out pocketfuls of sweets to orphans and street rascals. He devoted a proportion of his illicit profits to building an orphanage. His charity was rewarded by his election as president of the

Azione Cattolica The Azione Cattolica Italiana, or Azione Cattolica (Catholic Action) for short, is a widespread Roman Catholic lay association in Italy. History In Italy in 1905, Azione Cattolica was established as a non-political lay organization under the d ...

(Catholic Action) in Cinisi.Lewis, ''The Honoured Society'', pp. 232-33

First Mafia War

Manzella was heavily involved in cigarette smuggling and heroin trafficking. He was a protagonist in the

First Mafia War The Ciaculli massacre on 30 June 1963 was caused by a car bomb that exploded in Ciaculli, an outlying suburb of Palermo, killing seven police and military officers sent to defuse it after an anonymous phone call. The bomb was intended for Salvator ...

. The conflict erupted over an underweight shipment of heroin. The shipment was financed by Manzella, the Greco cousins from

Ciaculli Ciaculli is an outlying suburb of Palermo, Sicily, Italy. It counts less than 9500 residents. Ciaculli is close to the suburb of Croceverde. Ciaculli has been important within the history of the Cosa Nostra The Sicilian Mafia, also simply know ...

and the La Barbera brothers from Palermo Centre. Suspicion fell on

Calcedonio Di Pisa Calcedonio Di Pisa (; 11 October 1931 – 26 December 1962), also known as Doruccio, was a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was the boss of the Mafia family in the Noce neighbourhood in Palermo and sat on the first Sicilian Mafia Commission, the ...

, who had collected the heroin for Manzella from the Corsican supplier,

Pascal Molinelli Pascal, Pascal's or PASCAL may refer to: People and fictional characters * Pascal (given name), including a list of people with the name * Pascal (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** Blaise Pascal, Frenc ...

, and had organised the transport to Manzella’s partners in New York. The case was brought before the Mafia Commission, but disagreement on how to handle it led to a bloody conflict, known as the

, between the Grecos, headed by

Salvatore "Ciaschiteddu" Greco Salvatore "Ciaschiteddu" Greco (; 13 January 1923 – 7 March 1978) was a powerful mafioso and boss of the Sicilian Mafia Family in Ciaculli, an outlying suburb of Palermo famous for its citrus fruit groves, where he was born. His nickname was "C ...

, and the La Barberas – in particular when Di Pisa was killed on December 26, 1962. Manzella sided with the Grecos and became the target of the rival faction. Manzella was killed on April 26, 1963, when he was blown to pieces by a car bomb. Pieces of Manzella's body were found stuck to lemon trees hundreds of meters from the crater where the car had been.Dickie, ''Cosa Nostra'', p. 349

Impastato

Manzella was an uncle by marriage of

Giuseppe Impastato Giuseppe "Peppino" Impastato (; January 5, 1948 – May 9, 1978), was an Italian political activist who opposed the Mafia, which ordered his murder in 1978. Childhood Giuseppe "Peppino" Impastato was born in Cinisi, in the then province of ...

, the Anti-mafia activist who was murdered by the Mafia in 1978. Peppino Impastato's Anti-mafia activity might have been triggered by the brutal murder of Manzella, when Peppino was 15 years old. Peppino was traumatized by the event, saying: "Is this really Mafia? If this is Mafia I will fight it for the rest of my life…."Condividevo ma non ho avuto lo stesso coraggio...
Interview with Giovanni Impastato, Girodivita, March 2004.

References

*Dickie, John (2004). ''Cosa Nostra. A history of the Sicilian Mafia'', London: Coronet, *Gambetta, Diego (1993). ''The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private Protection'', New York: Harvard University Press, * Lewis, Norman (1964/2003).
Honoured Society: The Sicilian Mafia Observed
', London: Eland, *Shawcross, Tim & Martin Young (1987). ''Men Of Honour: The Confessions Of Tommaso Buscetta'', London: Collins {{DEFAULTSORT:Manzella, Cesare 1897 births 1963 deaths Sicilian mafiosi Sicilian Mafia Commission Murdered Mafiosi People murdered in Italy Deaths by car bomb in Italy