Salvatore Contorno (; born 28 May 1946), called Totuccio, is a former member of the
Sicilian Mafia
"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
who turned into a state witness (''
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 ...
'') against Cosa Nostra in October 1984, following the example of
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 ...
. He gave detailed accounts of the inner-workings of the Sicilian Mafia. His testimonies were crucial in the
Maxi Trial
The Maxi Trial ( it, Maxiprocesso) was a criminal trial against the Sicilian Mafia that took place in Palermo, Sicily. The trial lasted from 10 February 1986 (the first day of the Corte d'Assise) to 30 January 1992 (the final day of the Supreme ...
against the Sicilian Mafia in Palermo and the
Pizza Connection trial in New York City in the mid 1980s.
Early Mafia career
Contorno was born in
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 ...
. His father Antonino had been a mafioso from the later dissolved Corso Calatafimi Mafia family. Salvatore Contorno was a godson of
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 ...
, who would go on to become the secretary 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 ...
. In 1975, the butcher ''Totuccio'' Contorno was
initiated
Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation ...
in the Santa Maria di Gesù Mafia family in Palermo, then led by
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 ...
, an influential member 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 ...
and a close ally of Ciaschiteddu.
[ Contorno and Bontade used to be hunting companions in the 1960s. Although he was just a soldier in the Mafia family, Contorno reported directly to the boss Bontade. He was one of Bontade's trusted hitmen.][Blumenthal, ''Last Days of the Sicilians'', pp. 31-34]
Contorno became a cigarette smuggler and heroin trafficker. His cousins, the Grado brothers imported morphine
Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...
base from Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, which was refined into heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
in laboratories on Sicily.[Calvi, ''L'Europe des Parrains'', pp. 204-07] He was also involved in kidnapping, for which he was sentenced to 22 years in prison. From 1976-79 Contorno was in compulsory internal exile in Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
after completing a prison term for belonging to a criminal organisation. However, he frequently returned to Palermo. At the time he was bankrupt, because his frozen-meat business had failed. He needed to borrow money to invest in heroin shipments.[Alexander, ''The Pizza Connection'', p. 83]
Second Mafia War
During the Second Mafia War — when 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 n ...
allies of Michele Greco
Michele Greco (; 12 May 1924 – 13 February 2008) was a member of the Sicilian Mafia and a convicted murderer. Greco died in prison while serving multiple life sentences. His nickname was ''Il Papa'' ("The Pope") due to his ability to mediate bet ...
and Salvatore 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 ...
attacked the established Mafia families of Palermo — the Corleonesi killed Contorno's boss, 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 April 1981. They went on to eliminate other members of the Santa Maria di Gesù family that were lured to the estate of Michele Greco
Michele Greco (; 12 May 1924 – 13 February 2008) was a member of the Sicilian Mafia and a convicted murderer. Greco died in prison while serving multiple life sentences. His nickname was ''Il Papa'' ("The Pope") due to his ability to mediate bet ...
where they were wiped out. Contorno did not turn up to the fateful meeting at Greco's estate. He sensed trouble and went into hiding.[Stille, ''Excellent Cadavers'', p. 111]
On 25 June 1981, Contorno narrowly escaped a murder attempt by Pino Greco
Pino or Piño may refer to:
People
* Danny Pino (born 1974), American actor
* Domenico Pino (1760–1826), Italian general of the Napoleonic Wars
* Fernando Solanas (born 1936), aka "Pino" Solanas, Argentine filmmaker
* Frank J. Pino (1909 ...
(''Scarpuzzedda'', little shoe) and Giuseppe Lucchese
Giuseppe Lucchese (; born September 2, 1959), known as ''Occhi di ghiaccio'' (Eyes of ice), is a member of the Sicilian Mafia from the Brancaccio neighbourhood in Palermo. He was one of the favourite hitmen of the Corleonesi, headed by Totò Rii ...
— the favourite hitmen of the Corleonesi.[Stille, ''Excellent Cadavers'', p. 131] The Corleonesi employed a scorched earth policy to hunt down Contorno, killing his relatives and friends, to prevent them from hiding him. Despite this approach, they were unable to find him, which earned Contorno the nickname Coriolano della Floresta Coriolano is both an Italian surname and a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Bartolomeo Coriolano, Italian Baroque engraver
* Cristoforo Coriolano, German Renaissance engraver
*Giovanni Battista Coriolano
Giovann ...
, a kind of popular Sicilian version of Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
.[Stille, ''Excellent Cadavers'', pp. 60-61]
Arrest
While in hiding from both the authorities and the Corleonesi, Contorno sent anonymous letters to the police, revealing information on the Mafia, its members, the various factions and the violent turmoil it was undergoing. Police Superintendent Antonino ''Ninni'' Cassarà developed a relationship with Contorno as an informant, code-naming him ''Fonte di Prima Luce'' (Source of First Light).[Schneider & Schneider, ''Reversible Destiny'', pp. 137-38]
Contorno was arrested on 23 March 1982, in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, where he had gone to prepare for the murder of Giuseppe ''Pippo'' Calò who Contorno held responsible for the murder of his boss 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 ...
. "Too bad I didn't succeed," he said during the Maxi Trial
The Maxi Trial ( it, Maxiprocesso) was a criminal trial against the Sicilian Mafia that took place in Palermo, Sicily. The trial lasted from 10 February 1986 (the first day of the Corte d'Assise) to 30 January 1992 (the final day of the Supreme ...
.[Stille, ''Excellent Cadavers'', pp. 187-88] When he was captured, police found several weapons, two bulletproof cars, tens of thousands of dollars in cash, 140 kilograms of hashish and two kilos of heroin. The arrest probably saved his life, making Contorno one of the few survivors of the losing factions in the Second Mafia War.[
Contorno's revelations were the first time the authorities really learned of ]Michele Greco
Michele Greco (; 12 May 1924 – 13 February 2008) was a member of the Sicilian Mafia and a convicted murderer. Greco died in prison while serving multiple life sentences. His nickname was ''Il Papa'' ("The Pope") due to his ability to mediate bet ...
's high-ranking membership of the Mafia. Previously he had just been regarded as a rather secretive landowner with a suspiciously high income, although he did come from a long line of Mafiosi. Cassarà used Contorno to create a map of the families of the Palermo region and a report on their increasingly confrontational relations and involvement in narcotics (the so-called Greco+161 report on 13 July 1982). Working closely with Judge 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 ...
, two months later the police unleashed a dragnet roundup of 162 Mafiosi wanted for drug trafficking and homicide.[
]
Pentito and Maxi Trial
Despite his arrest, Contorno refused to collaborate any more with Cassarà and Falcone. After the decision of Tommaso Buscetta to collaborate, Contorno changed his mind. According to some, Buscetta met Contorno who supposedly fell to his knees and kissed Buscetta's hand. Buscetta allegedly put his hand on his shoulder and said: “It’s all right, Totuccio, you can talk.”[Stille, ''Excellent Cadavers'', pp. 130-32][Dickie, ''Cosa Nostra'', p. 290] Contorno began collaborating in October 1984, and a week later 127 arrest warrants were issued against mafiosi.[Stille, ''Excellent Cadavers'', p. 147]
Information provided by 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 ...
, plus the evidence of Salvatore Contorno, led to the first Maxi Trial
The Maxi Trial ( it, Maxiprocesso) was a criminal trial against the Sicilian Mafia that took place in Palermo, Sicily. The trial lasted from 10 February 1986 (the first day of the Corte d'Assise) to 30 January 1992 (the final day of the Supreme ...
which involved 475 defendants which ended in December 1987, 22 months after it began, with 338 convictions.[Italy Slicing Up the Beast]
Time Magazine, February 24, 1986 Contorno received a reduced sentence of six years due to his collaboration with the prosecution.[
While Buscetta provided important information on the inner-workings of ]the Mafia
"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
, it was Contorno who was more effective as a witness, naming names and explaining the Mafia's heroin trafficking. He testified in a rapid, often incomprehensible specific Palermitan dialect and Mafia jargon that had to be translated for the official record.[Sterling, ''Octopus'', pp. 284-86] He held the court room captivated with his open contempt for the brotherhood he had once belonged to. Now, he said it was "just a gang of bullies and murderers." They had killed a dozen of his direct relatives.[
]
Pizza Connection Trial
Contorno was a key witness in the Pizza Connection Trial
The Pizza Connection Trial (in full, ''United States v. Badalamenti et al.'') was a criminal trial against the Sicilian and American mafias that took place before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in New York ...
. He agreed to testify, and was a protected witness in the United States for four years. He gave evidence that directly linked some defendants to heroin trafficking. Contorno testified that defendant Frank Castronovo, cousin of Carlo Castronovo in Sicily, used pizza parlors as fronts in the United States. Contorno also testified that he had a meeting in 1980 in Bagheria about heroin and had seen Castronovo there with three other defendants—Salvatore Catalano, Gaetano Mazzara, and Salvatore Greco.[Sterling, ''Octopus'', pp. 257-58]
Contorno watched as the men, "took out two plastic garbage bags and extracted packages of white powder in clear plastic envelopes, each bearing different tiny scissor cuts or pen or pencil marks to identify the individual owner. They poured samples of the powder into a bottle heating on a hot plate." These same marked samples would later be intercepted by the DEA
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...
as a seizure of 40 kilograms of 85 percent pure heroin which was "$8 million worth at Mafia importer’s prices and at least $80 million worth at street prices."[
]
Later life
Contorno returned to Italy in late 1988. On 26 May 1989, Contorno was arrested again in a hideout near Palermo together with his cousin Gaetano Grado
Gaetano Grado (born in Palermo, 8 March 1943) is an Italian mafioso from Palermo, Sicily. He was a member of the Santa Maria di Gesù family under Stefano Bontade until his arrest, after which he became a justice collaborator.
Biography
Gaetano ...
and a cache of weapons.[Contorno, de pentito a vendicatore]
La Repubblica, May 27, 1989 The affair became a scandal in July 1989 when anonymous letters signed by "il corvo" (literally "raven", but meaning "provocateur") claimed that prosecuting judge 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 his close collaborator, police inspector Gianni De Gennaro, had organised Contorno's secret return from protective custody in the US to Sicily to start a state sponsored vendetta against the Corleonesi.[Schneider & Schneider, ''Reversible Destiny'', p. 146] The allegations against Falcone and De Gennaro proved to be a hoax, but further weakened Falcone's already difficult position in the prosecuting office in Palermo. Contorno was in contact with De Gennaro prior to his arrest, who tried to monitor his movements.
In April 1994, a bomb was discovered close to the secret hideout of Contorno near Rome in the midst of a campaign of the Corleonesi against state collaborators, however the explosives were found by police on a tip from an informant before they could be used against Contorno as ordered by Matteo Messina Denaro
Matteo Messina Denaro (; born 26 April 1962), also known as ''Diabolik'', is a Sicilian Mafia boss. He got his nickname from the Italian comic book character of the same name. He is considered to be one of the new leaders of Cosa Nostra after t ...
.[Trappola esplosiva per Contorno]
Corriere della Sera, April 15, 1994 In January 1997 Contorno was arrested again, because of his involvement in dealing 2 kilograms of heroin in the early 1990s, which resulted from the investigations into the bombing attempt. He was sentenced to six years in prison. In October 1997, an arrest warrant was issued against Contorno for drug trafficking, together with his cousin Gaetano Grado
Gaetano Grado (born in Palermo, 8 March 1943) is an Italian mafioso from Palermo, Sicily. He was a member of the Santa Maria di Gesù family under Stefano Bontade until his arrest, after which he became a justice collaborator.
Biography
Gaetano ...
.[Contorno vendeva droga: fine della libertà]
Corriere della Sera, January 30, 1997[Mafia e droga, 41 arresti]
Corriere della Sera, October 23, 1997
In November 2004, Contorno was arrested again for extorting a former fellow cellmate, but the charges were dropped.[Estorsione, nei guai il pentito Contorno]
Corriere della Sera, 3 December 2004 According to the writer Leonardo Sciascia
Leonardo Sciascia (; 8 January 1921 – 20 November 1989) was an Italian writer, novelist, essayist, playwright, and politician. Some of his works have been made into films, including '' Porte Aperte'' (1990; ''Open Doors''), '' Cadaveri Eccellen ...
, Contorno lived inside the world of the Mafia "the way the rest of us live inside our own skin, as if the Mafia were a state into which you were born and always remained a citizen of."[
]
References
*Alexander, Shana (1988). ''The Pizza Connection'', New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
*Blumenthal, Ralph (1988).
Last Days of the Sicilians
', New York: Times Books: New York
* Calvi, Fabrizio (1993). ''L'Europe des Parrains: La Mafia à l'assaut de l'Europe'', Paris : Grasset & Fasquelle,
*Dickie, John (2004).
Cosa Nostra. A history of the Sicilian Mafia
', London: Coronet,
*Schneider, Jane T. & Peter T. Schneider (2003).
Reversible Destiny: Mafia, Antimafia, and the Struggle for Palermo
', Berkeley: University of California Press
*Shawcross, Tim & Martin Young (1987). ''Men of Honour: The Confessions of Tommaso Buscetta'', Glasgow: Collins
* Sterling, Claire (1990). ''Octopus. How the long reach of the Sicilian Mafia controls the global narcotics trade'', New York: Simon & Schuster,
* Stille, Alexander (1995). '' Excellent Cadavers: The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic'', New York: Vintage
External links
*
*
* Senato della Repubblica Italiana (1962). ''Indagine sui casi di singoli mafiosi''
official government link
{{DEFAULTSORT:Contorno, Salvatore
1946 births
Living people
Gangsters from Palermo
Pentiti
People who entered the United States Federal Witness Protection Program