Giuseppe Calderone
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Giuseppe “Pippo” Calderone (
Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...
, November 1, 1925 –
Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...
, September 8, 1978) was an influential Sicilian mafioso from
Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...
, eventually becoming the capo of the Catania Mafia family. He became the ‘secretary’ of the
Interprovincial Commission The Interprovincial Commission (Italian: ''Commissione interprovinciale''), also known as "''Regione''", "''commissione regionale''" or "''cupola regionale''") is a governing body of Cosa Nostra. It gathered only to deliberate important decisions ...
, formed around 1975 on his instigation. Its purpose was to coordinate the provincial Mafia commissions and avoid conflicts over public contracts that crossed provincial borders. Calderone was killed in 1978, on the orders of
Totò Riina Salvatore Riina (; 16 November 1930 – 17 November 2017), called (, Totò being the diminutive of Salvatore), was an Italian mobster and chief of the Sicilian Mafia, known for a ruthless murder campaign that reached a peak in the early 1990s ...
.


Early years

Originally, Catania was not a traditional Mafia area. The Mafia was much more entrenched in the western part of Sicily. According to Pippo’s brother
Antonino Calderone Antonino Calderone (October 24, 1935January 10, 2013) was a Sicilian Mafioso who turned state witness (''pentito'') in 1987 after his arrest in 1986. Antonino was born in Catania, the brother of Giuseppe Calderone, the boss of the local Mafia. ...
(who became a
pentito ''Pentito'' (; lit. "repentant"; plural: ''pentiti'') is used colloquially to designate collaborators of justice in Italian criminal procedure terminology who were formerly part of criminal organizations and decided to collaborate with a public ...
in 1987) the first Mafia family in Catania was started by Antonio Saitta. He had been prosecuted by
Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
’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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, organizing the black market in contraband cigarettes.Stille, Excellent Cadavers, p. 229 Cosa Nostra’s control in Catania is less secure than in western Sicily. Next to the Mafia there are other independent groups that are not part of the Mafia cartel: the Cursoti, the Carcagnusi and the Malpassoti. Violent disputes between the different clans are quite common. In the early 1960s, Calderone was already a man of honor and had the role of
consigliere Consigliere ( , ; plural ) is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel ''The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a c ...
within the Catania mafia, which at the time was headed by Orazio Nicotra. In the mid-1960s, Giuseppe becomes the capo of the Catania's mafia family. Initially, the Catania's mafia family headed by Calderone went through difficult times economically. They earned some money with cigarette smuggling and ran an
Agip Agip (''Azienda Generale Italiana Petroli'', en, General Italian Oil Company) is an Italian automotive gasoline, diesel, LPG, lubricants, fuel oil, and bitumen retailer established in 1926. It has been a subsidiary of the multinational petroleu ...
petrol station, thanks to a
franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
they acquired through
Christian Democrat Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
politician Graziano Verzotto. Giuseppe Calderone and senator Graziano Verzotto were the best man at the marriage of the Mafia boss from
Riesi Riesi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caltanissetta in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about south of Caltanissetta. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 11,678 and an area of .All d ...
in the
province of Caltanissetta The Province of Caltanissetta ( it, provincia di Caltanissetta; scn, pruvincia di Nissa or ; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Caltanissetta'') is a province in the southern part of Sicily, Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilia ...
,
Giuseppe Di Cristina Giuseppe Di Cristina (April 22, 1923 – May 30, 1978) was a powerful Sicilian Mafia, mafioso from Riesi in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, southern Italy. Di Cristina, nicknamed “la tigre’’ (the tiger), was born into a traditional ...
. In the beginning of the 1970s, the Calderone clan developed a relationship with the construction entrepreneur Carmelo Costanzo – one of the four Cavalieri del Lavoro (Knights of Labour), together with 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. They made sure there would be no problems for Costanzo’s companies when they worked elsewhere in Sicily.


At the top in Cosa Nostra

Giuseppe Calderone became one of the leaders of Cosa Nostra. He established good relationships with the Mafia families from Palermo. On June 17, 1970 the traffic police in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
stopped an
Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
for speeding. In the car were
Tommaso Buscetta Tommaso Buscetta (; 13 July 1928 – 2 April 2000) was an Italian mobster and a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He became one of the first of its members to turn informant and explain the inner workings of the organization. Buscetta participated i ...
,
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 "Ci ...
, Gerlando Alberti,
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 19 ...
and Giuseppe Calderone. Unaware of the identity of the men in the car the police let them continue their journey.Servadio, ''Mafioso'', p. 232 The mafiosi were involved in a series of meetings about the future of Cosa Nostra. They decided to set up a new
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 ...
(the first one was dissolved after the
Ciaculli massacre 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 Salvato ...
) – initially headed by a triumvirate consisting of
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 19 ...
,
Stefano Bontade Stefano Bontade (23 April 1939 – 23 April 1981) was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. His actual surname was Bontate. He was the boss of the Santa Maria di Gesù Family in Palermo. He was also known as the ''Principe di Villagrazia'' (Prin ...
and the Corleonesi boss
Luciano Leggio Luciano Leggio (; 6 January 1925 – 15 November 1993) was an Italian criminal and leading figure of the Sicilian Mafia. He was the head of the Corleonesi, the Mafia faction that originated in the town of Corleone. He is universally known with th ...
. At the time, Calderone was also involved in the negotiations between Cosa Nostra and prince
Junio Valerio Borghese Junio Valerio Scipione Ghezzo Marcantonio Maria Borghese (6 June 1906 – 26 August 1974), nicknamed The Black Prince, was an Regia Marina, Italian Navy commander during the regime of Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party and a prominent har ...
who asked for support for his plans for a neo-fascist coup in return for a pardon of convicted mafiosi like Vincenzo Rimi and
Luciano Leggio Luciano Leggio (; 6 January 1925 – 15 November 1993) was an Italian criminal and leading figure of the Sicilian Mafia. He was the head of the Corleonesi, the Mafia faction that originated in the town of Corleone. He is universally known with th ...
. According to Mafia turncoat
Tommaso Buscetta Tommaso Buscetta (; 13 July 1928 – 2 April 2000) was an Italian mobster and a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He became one of the first of its members to turn informant and explain the inner workings of the organization. Buscetta participated i ...
the prince Borghese wanted a list with all mafiosi of Sicily. Calderone and
Giuseppe Di Cristina Giuseppe Di Cristina (April 22, 1923 – May 30, 1978) was a powerful Sicilian Mafia, mafioso from Riesi in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, southern Italy. Di Cristina, nicknamed “la tigre’’ (the tiger), was born into a traditional ...
went to Rome and met the prince Borghese. They told Borghese they wouldn’t give him any list and also asked him to manage the trials they were interested in. However, the Mafia decided not to participate and the so-called
Golpe Borghese The ''Golpe Borghese'' (English: Borghese Coup) was a failed Italian ''coup d'état'' allegedly planned for the night of 7 or 8 December 1970. It was named after Junio Valerio Borghese, wartime commander of the Decima Flottiglia MAS and a her ...
fizzled out in the night of December 8, 1970.Stille, Excellent Cadavers, p. 151-53 According to reports, Calderone was the godfather in the baptism of one of the sons of Ciro Mazzarella, an important Camorra boss and at the time the head of the
Mazzarella clan The Mazzarella clan is a Campanian Camorra clan operating in the city of Naples. The clan is historically considered one of the most powerful groups of the Camorra. History The clan was founded in the 1960s by the Mazzarella brothers, Ciro know ...
.


Interprovincial Commission

In February 1975 an
Interprovincial Commission The Interprovincial Commission (Italian: ''Commissione interprovinciale''), also known as "''Regione''", "''commissione regionale''" or "''cupola regionale''") is a governing body of Cosa Nostra. It gathered only to deliberate important decisions ...
was formed on the instigation of Giuseppe Calderone who became its first "secretary". It was meant to coordinate the provincial Mafia commissions and avoid conflicts over business interests such as public works contracts that crossed provincial borders. The other members were
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 19 ...
for
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
, Giuseppe Settecasi (
Agrigento Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one of ...
), Cola Buccellato (
Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an impor ...
), Angelo Mongiovì (
Enna Enna ( or ; grc, Ἔννα; la, Henna, less frequently ), known from the Middle Ages until 1926 as Castrogiovanni ( scn, Castrugiuvanni ), is a city and located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering ...
) and
Giuseppe Di Cristina Giuseppe Di Cristina (April 22, 1923 – May 30, 1978) was a powerful Sicilian Mafia, mafioso from Riesi in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, southern Italy. Di Cristina, nicknamed “la tigre’’ (the tiger), was born into a traditional ...
(
Caltanissetta Caltanissetta (; scn, Nissa or ) is a ''comune'' in the central interior of Sicily, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Caltanissetta. Its inhabitants are called ''Nisseni''. In 2017, the city had a population of 62,797. It is the 14th l ...
). While Calderone was elevated to the Commission his underboss Nitto Santapaola took over the business in Catania for the Mafia family. He managed the interests in heroin trafficking and acted as chief enforcer for the leading businessmen. Meanwhile, Santapaola carefully built a private faction within the family that was loyal to him – and strengthened relations with Riina and the Corleonesi. While Riina was a fugitive he frequently spent time in and around Catania and often went hunting with Santapaola around the local mountains.


At war with the Corleonesi

Calderone and Di Cristina became early targets of
Totò Riina Salvatore Riina (; 16 November 1930 – 17 November 2017), called (, Totò being the diminutive of Salvatore), was an Italian mobster and chief of the Sicilian Mafia, known for a ruthless murder campaign that reached a peak in the early 1990s ...
and
Bernardo Provenzano Bernardo Provenzano (; 31 January 1933 – 13 July 2016) was an Italian mobster and chief of the Sicilian Mafia clan known as the Corleonesi, a Mafia faction that originated in the town of Corleone, and ''de facto'' the boss of bosses (''il c ...
and their Corleonesi in their attempt to dominate the Sicilian Mafia. The Corleonesi were attacking the allies of the Palermo families in the other provinces to isolate men like
Stefano Bontade Stefano Bontade (23 April 1939 – 23 April 1981) was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. His actual surname was Bontate. He was the boss of the Santa Maria di Gesù Family in Palermo. He was also known as the ''Principe di Villagrazia'' (Prin ...
,
Salvatore Inzerillo Salvatore Inzerillo (; 20 August 1944 – 11 May 1981) was an Italian member of the Sicilian Mafia, also known as Totuccio (a diminutive for Salvatore). He rose to be a powerful boss of Palermo's Passo di Rigano family. A prolific heroin traffick ...
and
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 19 ...
. Calderone and Di Cristina recognised the danger. Calderone was challenged by
Nitto Santapaola Benedetto Santapaola (; born 4 June 1938), better known as Nitto, is a prominent mafioso from Catania, the main city and industrial centre on Sicily's east coast. His nickname is ''il cacciatore'' (the hunter), because of his passion for shooting ...
in Catania, while Francesco Madonia, not to be confused with his relative Francesco "Ciccio" Madonia, wanted to eliminate Di Cristina in the province of Caltanissetta. On November 21, 1977, Di Cristina survived a shooting, but his most loyal men Giuseppe Di Fede and Carlo Napolitano were murdered by the Corleonesi. Madonia was suspected to be behind the attack. In January 1978,
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 "Ci ...
, the old and ailing former head of the
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 ...
, came all the way from Venezuela to try to restrain Calderone, Di Cristina,
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 19 ...
and
Salvatore Inzerillo Salvatore Inzerillo (; 20 August 1944 – 11 May 1981) was an Italian member of the Sicilian Mafia, also known as Totuccio (a diminutive for Salvatore). He rose to be a powerful boss of Palermo's Passo di Rigano family. A prolific heroin traffick ...
from retaliating against the growing power of the Corleonesi. Di Cristina and Badalamenti wanted to kill Francesco Madonia, the boss of Vallelunga Mafia family and an ally of the Corleonesi in the
province of Caltanissetta The Province of Caltanissetta ( it, provincia di Caltanissetta; scn, pruvincia di Nissa or ; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Caltanissetta'') is a province in the southern part of Sicily, Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilia ...
. Greco tried to convince them not to go ahead and offered Di Cristina to emigrate to Venezuela. Nevertheless, Calderone, Badalamenti and Di Cristina decided to go on and
Francesco Madonia Francesco Madonia (March 31, 1924 – March 13, 2007) was the Mafia boss of the San Lorenzo-Pallavicino area in Palermo. In 1978 he became a member of the Sicilian Mafia Commission. ''Ciccio'' Madonia became the unquestioned patriarch of the Resu ...
was murdered on April 8, 1978, by Di Cristina and Salvatore Pillera (from
Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...
, who was dispatched by Calderone). In retaliation, Di Cristina was killed in May 1978 by the Corleonesi. Next was Giuseppe Calderone, who was killed on September 8, 1978. His rival
Nitto Santapaola Benedetto Santapaola (; born 4 June 1938), better known as Nitto, is a prominent mafioso from Catania, the main city and industrial centre on Sicily's east coast. His nickname is ''il cacciatore'' (the hunter), because of his passion for shooting ...
– who had forged an alliance with the Corleonesi – took over the command of the Catania Mafia Family. These killings were just a prelude to the Second Mafia War that really started after the murder of
Stefano Bontade Stefano Bontade (23 April 1939 – 23 April 1981) was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. His actual surname was Bontate. He was the boss of the Santa Maria di Gesù Family in Palermo. He was also known as the ''Principe di Villagrazia'' (Prin ...
in 1981.Stille, Excellent Cadavers, p. 107-08 One of the more bizarre anecdotes Calderone's brother
Antonio Calderone Antonino Calderone (October 24, 1935January 10, 2013) was a Sicilian Mafioso who turned state witness (''pentito'') in 1987 after his arrest in 1986. Antonino was born in Catania, the brother of Giuseppe Calderone, the boss of the local Mafia. ...
(who became a state witness in 1987) related in his memoirs was that of Riina giving an impassioned eulogy of Pippo Calderone as a great peacemaker at the funeral that reduced many hardened mafiosi to tears, even though they knew that Riina himself probably had ordered the killing.


References

*Arlacchi, Pino & Antonio Calderone (1992). ''Men of Dishonor. Inside the Sicilian Mafia. An Account of Antonio Calderone'', New York: William Morrow & Co. * Caruso, Alfio (2000). ''Da cosa nasce cosa. Storia della mafia del 1943 a oggi'', Milan: Longanesi *Servadio, Gaia (1976), ''Mafioso. A history of the Mafia from its origins to the present day'', London: Secker & Warburg * Stille, Alexander (1995). ''Excellent Cadavers. The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic'', New York: Vintage 1925 births 1978 deaths Sicilian mafiosi Sicilian Mafia Commission Mafiosi murdered by the Corleonesi People from Catania People murdered in Italy {{Mafia