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Benedetto Santapaola (; born 4 June 1938), better known as Nitto, is a prominent 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 ...
, the main city and industrial centre on
Sicily Sicily ( it, Sicilia , ) is the list of islands in the Mediterranean, largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. The Strait of Messina divides it from the region of Calabria in Southern Italy. I ...
's east coast. His nickname is ''il cacciatore'' (the hunter), because of his passion for shooting game. He is currently in jail serving several life sentences.


Early years

Nitto Santapaola was born in the degraded neighbourhood of San Cristoforo, in
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 ...
, into a poor family together with his brothers Salvatore, Antonino, Natale and numerous cousins, such as the Ferrera clan, the Ercolano clan and the Romeo clan, all members or associates of
Cosa Nostra The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily ...
, and the future nucleus of the Santapaola-Ercolano Mafia family. At the beginning of the 1960s, Santapaola was introduced by his cousin Francesco Ferrera into the largest Mafia family of Catania, at the time under the command of
Giuseppe Calderone Giuseppe “Pippo” Calderone (Catania, November 1, 1925 – Catania, September 8, 1978) was an influential Sicilian mafioso from Catania, eventually becoming the capo of the Catania Mafia family. He became the ‘secretary’ of the Interprov ...
. Santapaola's first denunciation was in 1962 for theft and criminal conspiracy. In 1970 he was sent into internal exile and in 1975 he was denounced for
cigarette smuggling The illicit cigarette trade is defined as “the production, import, export, purchase, sale, or possession of tobacco goods which fail to comply with legislation” (FATF 2012). Illicit cigarette trade activities fall under 3 categories: # Cont ...
.


Ally of the Corleonesi

While
Giuseppe Calderone Giuseppe “Pippo” Calderone (Catania, November 1, 1925 – Catania, September 8, 1978) was an influential Sicilian mafioso from Catania, eventually becoming the capo of the Catania Mafia family. He became the ‘secretary’ of the Interprov ...
was elevated to the Regional Commission of Cosa Nostra in 1975, his underboss Santapaola took over the illicit business in Catania for the Mafia family and became the ''capo famiglia'' of the clan. Santapaola managed the interests in heroin trafficking and acted as chief enforcer for the leading businessmen. Meanwhile, he carefully built a private faction within the family that was loyal to him – and strengthened relations with
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 the
Corleonesi The Corleonesi Mafia clan was a faction within the Corleone family of the Sicilian Mafia, formed in the 1970s. Notable leaders included Luciano Leggio, Salvatore Riina, Bernardo Provenzano, and Leoluca Bagarella. Corleonesi affiliates were no ...
. While Riina was a fugitive he frequently spent time in and around Catania and often went hunting with Santapaola around the local mountains. Riina decided to support Santapaola's faction in order to replace Calderone, an ally 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 ...
from Palermo and
Giuseppe Di Cristina Giuseppe Di Cristina (April 22, 1923 – May 30, 1978) was a powerful mafioso from Riesi in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, southern Italy. Di Cristina, nicknamed “la tigre’’ (the tiger), was born into a traditional Mafia family, ...
from Caltanissetta.
Giuseppe Calderone Giuseppe “Pippo” Calderone (Catania, November 1, 1925 – Catania, September 8, 1978) was an influential Sicilian mafioso from Catania, eventually becoming the capo of the Catania Mafia family. He became the ‘secretary’ of the Interprov ...
, was killed on 8 September 1978 by his former close friend, Santapaola. Santapaola took over the command of the Catania Mafia Family. These skirmishes were just a prelude to the
Second Mafia War The Second Mafia War was a period of conflict involving the Sicilian Mafia, mostly taking place from the late 1970s to the early 1990s and involved thousands of homicides. Sometimes referred to as The Great Mafia War or the ''Mattanza'' (Italian ...
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.


Catania Mafia wars

Santapaola's command over the Catania Mafia was not unchallenged. He had to fight a war against another independent group that was not part of the Mafia in
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 ...
, known as Cursoti, which waged war in order to control gambling and cigarettes smuggling. He was also involved in a bitter feud with the faction of Alfio Ferlito, who had been a close friend of
Giuseppe Calderone Giuseppe “Pippo” Calderone (Catania, November 1, 1925 – Catania, September 8, 1978) was an influential Sicilian mafioso from Catania, eventually becoming the capo of the Catania Mafia family. He became the ‘secretary’ of the Interprov ...
. The war involved gun battles in the streets and dozens of murders. On 6 June 1981 and on 26 April 1982, Santapaola was seriously wounded when ambushed by Ferlito and his men. When Ferlito was arrested Santapaola planned his revenge. On 16 June the same year, Ferlito was killed in an ambush when he was escorted by the
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 ...
during a transfer between two prisons, the Circonvallazione massacre. The killers were from Palermo and linked to the
Corleonesi The Corleonesi Mafia clan was a faction within the Corleone family of the Sicilian Mafia, formed in the 1970s. Notable leaders included Luciano Leggio, Salvatore Riina, Bernardo Provenzano, and Leoluca Bagarella. Corleonesi affiliates were no ...
.


The murder of General Dalla Chiesa

Santapaola paid back the service by sending a hit team from Catania to Palermo to kill
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 ...
general Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, his wife Emanuela Setti Carraro and the escort agent Domenico Russo on 3 September 1982, in the Via Carini in
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its h ...
. Swapping hit teams proved to be a successful way to distract police investigations. Dalla Chiesa had just been appointed
prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...
of Palermo to end the violence that was the result of a war between rival Mafia families. In his last public interview it had become clear that Dalla Chiesa started to focus on the emerging role of the Catania Mafia. Dalla Chiesa had noticed that four mighty real estate developers that dominated the construction industry on
Sicily Sicily ( it, Sicilia , ) is the list of islands in the Mediterranean, largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. The Strait of Messina divides it from the region of Calabria in Southern Italy. I ...
were building in
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its h ...
with the consent of the Mafia. The four entrepreneurs, Carmelo Costanzo, Francesco Finocchiaro, Mario Rendo and Gaetano Graci, were granted the honorary title Cavaliere del Lavoro (Knight of Labour) by the Italian government as reward for special merit to the Italian economy.


Links with business and politics

After Dalla Chiesa's murder, investigating magistrate
Giovanni Falcone Giovanni Falcone (; 18 May 1939 – 23 May 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian ...
found a note that indicated that Dalla Chiesa had discovered that Santapaola was on the payroll of Costanzo. Falcone encouraged colonel Elio Pizzuti of the Italian Financial/Customs Police (
Guardia di Finanza The ''Guardia di Finanza'' (G. di F. or GdF) () ( English: literal: ''Guard of Finance'', paraphrased: ''Financial Police'' or ''Financial Guard'') is an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance ...
) to look into their financial records. Pizzuti found ample evidence of corruption and political influence peddling by the four Knights that tied together the local Mafia, high finance and political figures. Santapaola had been a guest at the wedding of Costanzo's nephew and had been hiding in one of Costanzo's luxury hotels near Catania. He also had access to the private game reserve of another one of the Knights, Gaetano Graci. Mario Rendo bought all his cars from Santapaola's car dealership, while wiretaps revealed Rendo's executives discussing subcontracting with various mafiosi. Pizzuto also discovered a massive tax fraud by the Knights through phoney receipts and a list of payoffs to politicians and magistrates. Rendo told inspectors that the false receipts were necessary to create a slush fund for government contracts. (A prelude to the scandal of political bribery known as
Tangentopoli ''Mani pulite'' (; Italian for "clean hands") was a nationwide judicial investigation into political corruption in Italy held in the early 1990s, resulting in the demise of the so-called " First Republic" and the disappearance of many Italian ...
that would emerge ten years later in 1992.) Rendo discussed the investigations of Pizzuti with his boss, Treasury minister Rino Formica of the
Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892 ...
(PSI). Pizzuti was promoted and sent to
Triest Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
in
North Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
– as far away as possible from Sicily. Later, photographs turned up showing the mayor and members of the Catania city council with Santapaola, while a clan war bloodied the streets at the time. One picture showed Santapaola in friendly embrace with Salvatore Lo Turco, a member of the Sicilian parliament's
Antimafia Commission The Italian parliamentary Antimafia Commission ( it, Commissione parlamentare antimafia) is a bicameral commission of the Italian Parliament, composed of members from the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The first commission, formed in 1963, was ...
. The Catanese Mafia was generally able to learn about arrest warrants before they were issued and sometimes have names crossed of the list. The police released Santapaola after only a few routine questions when his bulletproof car had been found at the scene of a vicious shoot-out in which several people had been killed. Moreover, they continued to grant him a license to bear arms, despite his well-known criminal record.


Ties with the 'Ndrangheta

Santapaola had strong ties with some 'Ndrangheta clans, in particular with
Natale Iamonte Natale Iamonte (; 7 May 1927 – 2 February 2015), sometimes spelled as Jamonte, was an Italian criminal and a historical boss of the 'Ndrangheta. The Iamonte 'Ndrina is based in Melito di Porto Salvo and Montebello Ionico on the Ionic coast of Ca ...
, the head of the Iamonte
'Ndrina The 'ndrina (, plural: ; , plural: ) is the basic unit of the 'Ndrangheta of Calabria, made up of blood relatives, and is the equivalent of the Sicilian Mafia’s "family" or ''cosca''.Varese, How Mafias Migrate'Gratteri & Nicaso ''Fratelli di s ...
based in
Melito di Porto Salvo Melito di Porto Salvo ( scn, label= Calabrian, Mèlitu; el, Μέλιτος or Μέλιτο (Mèlitos, label=Calabrian Greek, script=Latn or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calab ...
on the Ionic coast of Calabria. Iamonte and his ally Paolo De Stefano secured arms and drug transports when the harbour of Catania was controlled too strictly.Mancini, il giudice nega l' arresto
Corriere della Sera, October 7, 1993
Mafia, 'ndrangheta e "l’oro grigio"
, ''Calabria Notizie'', April 11, 2008
In return Santapaola helped the Iamonte clan to get subcontracts for the construction of rail works with the Costanzo firm.
in ''I Siciliani'', April 1993


Murder of Giuseppe Fava

Santapaola has been convicted for the murder of the journalist Giuseppe Fava on 5 January 1984. Fava, founder and editor in chief of the magazine ''I Siciliani'', exposed the links between the Catania Mafia and the world of business and politics. In the first edition of ''I Siciliani'' Fava published an article ''I quattro cavalieri dell'apocalisse mafiosa'' (The four horsemen of the Mafia apocalypse), denouncing the links of the entrepreneurs with the Mafia. In 1994, Maurizio Avola, a nephew of Santapaola, confessed the killing of Fava, and 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 publi ...
. He also confessed some 70 other murders. Avola said that his uncle Nitto Santapaola had ordered the killing of the journalist.


Arrest and convictions

On 18 May 1993, he was arrested in a farmhouse hideout outside
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 ...
after being on the run for 11 years.Busting the Mafia: Italy Advances in War on Crime
The New York Times, June 27, 1993
His wife, Carmela Minniti, was killed on 1 September 1995, by 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 publi ...
for revenge of Santapaola posing as policeman. They called at her house, pushed past her daughter and shot her dead."As Code of Silence Cracks, Mafia Changes Rules"
''The New York Times'', October 11, 1995
"She ran his affairs," said Liliana Madeo, author of a book on the Mafia's new women. "If she was just a little woman, she wouldn't have been killed." Santapaola's rival Giuseppe Ferone (who had become 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 publi ...
) was one of the killers. Nitto Santapaola forgave his wife's killer in a letter he publicly read in court. Ferone's son and father had been killed on the orders of Santapaola. In 1998, Santapaola and Aldo Ercolano were convicted for ordering the killing of Giuseppe Fava.Mafiosi jailed for life
BBC News, July 19, 1998 In 2001 the Court of Appeal in Catania confirmed the life sentences. He also received life sentences for the murder of Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa,
Giovanni Falcone Giovanni Falcone (; 18 May 1939 – 23 May 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian ...
and
Paolo Borsellino Paolo Emanuele Borsellino (; scn, Pàulu Borsellino; 19 January 1940 – 19 July 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying t ...
. Santapaola allegedly continues to run his clan from inside prison with the help of a string of "regents". On 4 December 2007 his son Vincenzo Santapaola, who allegedly succeeded his father, was arrested.Raids net 38 as Sicily police aim to stamp out the mafia
''The Guardian'', December 5, 2007
Vincenzo had been in and out of jail since 1992 on various charges including the murder of Antimafia journalist Giuseppe Fava. He now faces charges of trying to reorganise his father's business.Superboss son caught in huge op
, ''Italy Magazine'', December 5, 2007


References


Books

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External links



Biography *

', by Giuseppe Fava in '' I Siciliani'', January 1983. {{DEFAULTSORT:Santapaola, Benedetto 1938 births Fugitives Fugitives wanted by Italy Living people People from Catania Sicilian Mafia Commission Sicilian Mafiosi Sicilian Mafiosi sentenced to life imprisonment