Salvatore "Totò" Cuffaro (born 21 February 1958) is a former
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
politician and former
President of Sicily
This is the list of all the presidents of Sicily since 1947.
There has been 24 elected presidents by Regional Council (1947-2001), and 4 directly elected presidents since 2001.
;Elected by the Regional Council (1947–2001)
;Directly-elected p ...
. He has served an almost 5-year
jail
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
sentence for aiding
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 a ...
.
[Prima notte in cella per Cuffaro]
La Repubblica, 23 January 2011 He has earned the nickname ''Vasa Vasa'' (
Sicilian for "Kiss Kiss") for his tendency to kiss all and sundry – he claims that he has kissed a quarter of all the people on the island.
[
]
Biography
Christian democrat
A graduate of medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
and surgery
Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...
at the University of Palermo
The University of Palermo ( it, Università degli Studi di Palermo) is a university located in Palermo, Italy, and founded in 1806. It is organized in 12 Faculties.
History
The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although its ...
, with a specialization in radiology
Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiat ...
, Cuffaro was expelled from the medical order for indignity. He joined the 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 ...
(DC) party during his student days. Then, after having served as City Councillor in his native city, Raffadali
Raffadali is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region of Sicily, located about south of Palermo and about northwest of Agrigento.
Geography
The commune's territory covers an area of around 1.617 hectares ...
, and 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 ...
, Cuffaro was first elected Member of the Sicilian Regional Assembly
The Sicilian Regional Assembly is the legislative body of Sicily. While it has a long history as an autonomous entity, the modern Region of Sicily was established by Royal Decree on 15 May 1946, before the Italian Republic. The Regional Assembly ...
in 1991. In 1996, he served as Regional Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries.[Voti, cannoli e amicizie pericolose]
La Repubblica, 23 January 2011
His political career began under the wing of former minister Calogero Mannino
Calogero Antonio Mannino (born August 20, 1939 in Asmara) is an Italian politician and lawyer. He has been a member of the Christian Democracy and the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats. He served in the cabinet of Prime Ministers Spadolin ...
, who in the past was suspected of having ties with the Mafia. Following the demise of the DC, he became a member of ex-DC splinter parties before joining the party Union of Christian and Centre Democrats
The Union of the Centre ( it, Unione di Centro, UdC), whose complete name is "Union of Christian and Centre Democrats" (''Unione dei Democratici Cristiani e Democratici di Centro'', UDC), is a Christian-democratic political party in Italy. Lore ...
(UDC). He first became known nationally in September 1991, when he defended his political patron Mannino, accused of being a witness at a Mafia wedding, live on television in a joint broadcasting of the Maurizio Costanzo
Maurizio Costanzo (born 28 August 1938) is an Italian television host, journalist, screenwriter and film director.
Biography
Costanzo began his career as a journalist, first as a contributing writer to ''Paese Sera'' and then as managing editor ...
show and Michele Santoro
Michele Santoro (born 2 July 1951) is an Italian journalist, and television host and presenter.
He also served till October 2005 as Member of the European Parliament for Southern Italy with the United in the Olive Tree list, part of the Sociali ...
's Samarcanda, accusing the presenters that their journalism was Mafia journalism. Later, Mannino was absolved. For many years it was falsely told that: "In the presence of Antimafia 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 ...
he (Cuffaro) accused the Sicilian prosecutors of manipulating state witnesses (pentiti
''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 october 2009, Cuffaro denounced for "defamation and threats" the 5000 and above YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
users who commente
the video
of the TV show. But, with judgment number 1742 of 2013, the Civil Court of Palermo has ordered compensation in favor of Cuffaro by Antonio Di Pietro, who had linked on its website the video of Cuffaro in Samarcanda under the title "Costanzo show: Totò Cuffaro attacks Giovanni Falcone. "In its judgment the Court found that "there is no evidence of a direct attack from Cuffaro against Prosecutor Falcone," and that Cuffaro himself, if anything, had criticized an investigation that was declared unfounded a few days later. In any case, the prosecutor criticized by Cuffaro was another one, not Falcone.
In 2001, after having joined the UDC, Cuffaro was endorsed by the House of Freedoms
The House of Freedoms ( it, Casa delle Libertà, CdL) was a major centre-right political and electoral alliance in Italy, led by Silvio Berlusconi.
History
The CdL was the successor of the Pole of Freedoms/Pole of Good Government and the Pole fo ...
as presidential candidate for Sicily. He won the election, with 59.1% of the vote, defeating Leoluca Orlando
Leoluca Orlando (born 1 August 1947), is an Italian politician, Mayor of Palermo for over twenty years and President of Italian Federation of American Football (FIDAF). He is best known for his strong opposition to the Sicilian Mafia during his m ...
. Cuffaro was elected as part of Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...
's sensational clean sweep of the island, when his coalition won all 61 of its parliamentary seats.[Berlusconi's ally in Sicily investigated for Mafia links]
The Independent, 28 June 2003
On 26 June 2003, it was revealed that Cuffaro was being investigated for 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 ...
-related crimes, after Domenico Miceli, a fellow UDC politician, was arrested for allegedly acting as a link between a Mafia chief and top Sicilian politicians, including Cuffaro.[ A few months later he was committed for trial. Despite all this, Cuffaro stood for the ]2004 European Parliament election
The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but electe ...
. Later that year, Cuffaro was appointed national vice-secretary of UDC, the party headed by Pier Ferdinando Casini
Pier Ferdinando Casini (; born 3 December 1955) is an Italian politician. He served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 2001 to 2006.
Casini is the honorary president of the Centrist Democrat International and the Inter-Parliamentary Un ...
. Until 2008 he was also President of COPPEM.
Re-elected
In the 2006 Italian general election
The 2006 Italian general election was held on 9 and 10 April 2006. Romano Prodi, leader of the centre-left coalition The Union, narrowly defeated the incumbent Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the centre-right coalition House of Freedo ...
, he was elected senator for his party, UDC. In the 2006 regional election, he was successively re-elected President of Sicily with 53.1% of the vote, defeating Rita Borsellino
Rita Borsellino (; 2 June 1945 – 15 August 2018) was an Italian Sicilian anti-Mafia activist, politician and, between 2009 and 2014, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Democratic Party.
Early life
Borsellino was born in Pale ...
, the Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
candidate and sister of the late judge 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 ...
, killed by the mafia in 1992.[Sicily elects governor linked with Mafia]
, The Independent, 30 May 2006
The Guardian, 13 May 2006
Cuffaro and the Italian Minister of Justice, Clemente Mastella
Mario Clemente Mastella (born 5 February 1947) is an Italian politician who has served as the mayor of Benevento since 20 June 2016. He is the leader of Union of Democrats for Europe, a minor centrist Italian party. He was Minister of Labour i ...
were involved in a scandal when it was found that they had been best men of Francesco Campanella
Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name " Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include:
People with the given name Francesco
* Francesco I (disambiguation), sev ...
, a former member of the Mafia and town councilor of Villabate
Villabate ( Sicilian: ''Villabbati'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 19,441 and an area of .All d ...
, who helped the boss 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 ...
during his absconding. In 2001 Campanella used his official position to supply Cosa Nostra's top "godfather" with an identity card so he could travel abroad for medical treatment. In July 2000 Mastella and Cuffaro had been witnesses at Campanella's wedding.[Italian justice minister linked to mafia inquiry]
The Guardian, 18 May 2006
In the year 2005, he was the object of media attention thanks to the television reportage
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...
''La Mafia è Bianca'' (The Mafia is White) by investigative journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
s Stefano Maria Bianchi and Alberto Nerazzini, which aimed to expose rife corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
in the Sicilian Health service and shows a clip of police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
film footage
In filmmaking and video production, footage is raw, unedited material as originally filmed by a movie camera or recorded by a ( often special) video camera, which typically must be edited to create a motion picture, video clip, television show or ...
of Cuffaro meeting with a known ''mafioso''. Cuffaro tried unsuccessfully to prevent the publishers from broadcasting their reportage on the grounds of its allegedly "defamatory" contents but in January 2006 the Civil Court in Bergamo rejected his request, stating that both text and video, including the audio commentary by the journalists, were not defamatory.[No di Cuffaro, ma documentario va in onda]
Corriere della Sera, 19 July 2006 Following later investigations and trial Cuffaro has been jailed for seven years after losing a final appeal against a mafia conviction and being banned for life from holding public office.
Mafia indictment and conviction
On 15 October 2007, assistant public prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone requested eight years' imprisonment for Cuffaro charged with aiding and abetting Cosa Nostra and passing confidential information about the trial to the so-called moles in the Palermo Antimafia directorate.[Mafia, chiesti otto anni per Cuffaro]
Corriere della Sera, 15 October 2007[Eight Years Requested For Cuffaro At Mafia Trial]
Corriere della Sera, 16 October 2007
Cuffaro's indictment emerged from an inquiry set up to trace leaks during an inquiry into a local doctor, Giuseppe Guttadauro
Giuseppe Guttadauro (born August 18, 1948 in Bagheria, Palermo province of Italy) is an Italian Mafia boss and a high-profile surgeon from the Rocella neighbourhood in Palermo. Born in Bagheria, he became the regent of the Brancaccio mandament ...
, accused of being the Cosa Nostra boss in its Palermo stronghold Brancaccio
Brancaccio is a neighbourhood in the municipality of Palermo, Sicily, in Italy. It is a semi-traditional area of the working class. It was important in the history of the Cosa Nostra.
Antimafia priest Pino Puglisi
Giuseppe "Pino" Puglisi (, ; ...
. Guttadauro learned that his home was being "bugged" from another doctor. The colleague alleged that he, in turn, had been tipped off by Cuffaro. Guttadauro was recorded describing how the Mafia had funded Cuffaro's 2001 election campaign. According to a transcript, he told that Cuffaro was handed packages of cash "in the least elegant, but most tangible way possible".
On 18 January 2008, Cuffaro was found guilty of having helped the Mafia and was given a five-year sentence, during which time he will be suspended from all public offices. Cuffaro was not found guilty of outright collusion with Cosa Nostra but the court concluded he acted in favour of several people sentenced for Mafia crimes and committed breaches of confidentiality. By Italian law, both the sentence and suspension from public office can only begin after the automatic appeals process is concluded. The prosecution had asked that Cuffaro be given an eight-year sentence but judges concluded that while he had helped the Mafia, there had been neither conspiracy nor willful intent. He has denied all wrongdoing and refused to step down, despite that he has also been banned from public office. "I knew I didn't do anything to willfully help the Mafia and tomorrow morning I intend to be back at my desk," Cuffaro said after the court adjourned.[Sicilian governor gets five years: Salvatore Cuffaro found guilty of helping the Mafia]
ANSA, 18 January 2008
La Repubblica, 18 January 2008[Sicily chief guilty in Mafia case]
BBC News, 18 January 2008
The day after, Cuffaro handed out cannoli
Cannoli (; scn, cannola ) are Italian pastries consisting of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling containing ricotta—a staple of Sicilian cuisine. They range in size from . In mainland Italy, they are ...
, a Sicilian pastry, as if celebrating the sentence, which he considered positive as he was not convicted for ties to the Mafia. The ricotta
Ricotta ( in Italian) is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the ...
sweets have become "instrumentalized," he told the daily Corriere della Sera
The ''Corriere della Sera'' (; en, "Evening Courier") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average daily circulation of 410,242 copies in December 2015.
First published on 5 March 1876, ''Corriere della Sera'' is one of It ...
. Adding that he "never celebrated" and fully understands the weight of the charges brought against him. He didn't bring the celebratory cannoli with him, but one of his many well-wishers did.[Cuffaro: «I cannoli? Strumentalizzati»]
Corriere della Sera, 20 January 2008
Resignation
Cuffaro resigned on 26 January 2008. His resignation followed reports that the national government was planning a move to oust him. The announcement represents a reversal for Cuffaro, who earlier said he would hang on to his post and appeal his five-year prison sentence of 18 January. Many, including some politicians from allied parties, were angry that he celebrated not being convicted of a more serious accusation – helping the Mafia as an organization. The head of Italy's politically influential industrial lobby, Confindustria
The General Confederation of Italian Industry ( it, Confederazione generale dell'industria italiana), commonly known as Confindustria, is the Italy, Italian employers' federation and national chamber of commerce, founded in 1910. It groups togeth ...
, lamented that Cuffaro remained in office while Sicilian businessmen were defying the Mafia by increasingly refusing to pay systematic "protection" money. A widely published photo of him offering his aides a tray of cannoli pastries to celebrate fuelled the outrage.[Cuffaro si è dimesso da Governatore]
La Repubblica, 26 January 2008[Sicily's governor resigns after conviction in Mafia case]
International Herald Tribune, 26 January 2008
Re-election and appeals trial
While Cuffaro was undergoing his appeals trial, the Union of the Centre nominated him in the 2008 general election and he was re-elected senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. On 23 January 2010 the 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 ...
Appeals Court
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
confirmed his two previous convictions and added the aggravation of favoring 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 ...
, sentencing him to seven years in prison.[Talpe Dda, Cuffaro condannato a 7 anni in appello; "L'ex governatore ha favorito Cosa Nostra"]
La Repubblica, 23 January 2010 He subsequently announced his intention to appeal the sentence before the Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
and to resign from all party offices.
Supreme Court Final conviction
On 22 January 2011, the Italian Supreme Court definitively confirmed the seven-year prison sentence and the perpetual ban from holding public office.[Sicily senator Salvatore Cuffaro jailed in mafia case]
BBC News, 23 January 2011
Seven years of prison
Salvatore Cuffaro served his time in jail at the Roman prison of Rebibbia. He was taken to Rome's Rebbibia prison the same day the Supreme Court confirmed the mafia conviction.[ As a result of his conviction, he lost his seat in the senate.
Under the term of the sentencing as a mafia convict, Cuffaro is also barred in perpetuity from holding public office.
He served his sentence and was released on 13 December 2015.][Totò Cuffaro esce da carcere di Rebibbia: «Bello respirare la libertà»]
Corriere della Sera, 13 December 2015
References
External links
Official website
Intercettazione ambientale: Boss Guttadauro parla di Cuffaro
from La Mafia è Bianca on YouTube
Cosi il boss scoprì la "cimice"
Antimafia Duemila, December 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuffaro, Salvatore
1958 births
Living people
People from Raffadali
Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians
Italian People's Party (1994) politicians
United Christian Democrats politicians
Democratic Union for the Republic politicians
Union of Democrats for Europe politicians
Union of the Centre (2002) politicians
The Populars of Italy Tomorrow politicians
Senators of Legislature XV of Italy
Senators of Legislature XVI of Italy
Presidents of Sicily
Members of the Sicilian Regional Assembly
University of Palermo alumni
Sapienza University of Rome alumni
Sicilian Mafiosi
Italian politicians convicted of crimes
Heads of government who were later imprisoned
Politicians from the Province of Agrigento