Salvatore "Vito" Vitale (; born June 20, 1959 in

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 ...

), also known as ''Fardazza'', is a member of the

Sicilian Mafia 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 ...

. For a while he was considered the heir 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 was closely connected to

Leoluca Bagarella Leoluca Bagarella (; born 3 February 1942) is an Italian criminal and member of the Sicilian Mafia. He is from the town of Corleone. Following Salvatore Riina's arrest in early 1993, Bagarella became the head of the stragist strategy faction, opp ...

.Storia di 'Farnazza', il killer di Cosa Nostra
La Repubblica, April 14, 1998

Mafia career

Vitale was born in

(

Palermo Province The Province of Palermo ( it, provincia di Palermo; Sicilian: ''pruvincia di Palermu'') was a province in the autonomous region of Sicily, a major island in Southern Italy. Its capital was the city of Palermo. On 4 August 2015, it was replaced ...

). He was the youngest of three brothers. His brothers Leonardo (27.10.1955) and Michele Vitale (21.05.1957) are mafiosi as well. His first arrest was for stealing vegetables, a rather trivial crime for a future mafia boss. On May 18, 1985 an arrest warrant was issued for arms trafficking. After the arrest of his brother Leonardo Vitale, Vito became the head of the family. He allied himself 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 n ...

clan, headed by

. His rise in the ranks of Cosa Nostra was due to his proven abilities as a killer and his close connection to

, Riina’s brother in law. "He shoots like a god, and is not afraid of anything," according to 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 ...

– a mafioso turned state witness. Vitale cooperated in the kidnap and killing of Giuseppe Di Matteo, the son of fellow mafioso

Santino Di Matteo Santino Di Matteo (born 7 December 1954), also known as ''Mezzanasca'', is an Italian former member of the Sicilian Mafia from the town of Altofonte in the province of Palermo, Sicily, Italy. Di Matteo took part in the killing of Antimafia judge ...

, who had become a pentito in 1993. The boy was held for 26 months to force his father to retract his testimony. The boy was finally strangled on the orders of

Giovanni Brusca Giovanni Brusca (; born 20 February 1957) is an Italian mobster and former member of the Corleonesi clan of the Sicilian Mafia. He had a major role in the 1992 murders of Antimafia Commission prosecutor Giovanni Falcone and businessman Ignazio ...

. Subsequently the body was dissolved in a barrel of acid to destroy the evidence. Vitale, who allegedly supplied the acid, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Contrasts in Cosa Nostra

In the 1990s a war of power in Partinico set the Geraci family, headed by

Nenè Geraci Antonino Geraci (Partinico, January 2, 1917 – Partinico, February 6, 2007), better known as Nenè or ''il vecchio'' (the old one), was the historical boss of the Mafia in Partinico, in the Metropolitan City of Palermo. Geraci sat on the Sicilian ...

, against the Vitale family. The Geraci’s, their heir

Filippo Nania Filippo is an Italian male given name, which is the equivalent of the English name Philip, from the Greek ''Philippos'', meaning "amante dei cavalli".''Behind the Name''"Given Name Philip" Retrieved on 23 January 2016. The female variant is Filip ...

and their allies the Lo Iacono's were loyal to

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 ...

, while the Vitale’s were supported by

and

."La nuova mafia era contro Provenzano"
La Sicilia, June 4, 2005
La Repubblica, February 13, 2008 According to his sister, the pentita

Giusy Vitale Giuseppa Vitale (born in Partinico, 1972), better known as Giusy, is the sister of Mafia bosses Leonardo, Michele and Vito Vitale from Partinico, Sicily. Giusy took over the command over the clan when her brothers were in prison or fugitives, desp ...

, some " young turks" within Cosa Nostra wanted to set aside

in 1998. Next to Vitale they were

Domenico Raccuglia Domenico "Mimmo" Raccuglia (; born October 27, 1964, in Altofonte), nicknamed ("the veterinarian"), is a member of the Mafia in Sicily. He was a fugitive and included on Italy's most wanted list since 1996, until his capture on November 15, 2009, ...

and

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 ...

. The younger bosses wanted to take strategical decisions without prior consent of Provenzano. They told him to "go home and take care of your family." Pentita, boss latitanti non volevano Provenzano capo
, ANSA, April 6, 2005

Arrest

On September 28, 1997, he was stopped and held under observation, but managed to escape before he was arrested. He was finally arrested on April 14, 1998.
La Repubblica, April 14, 1998
New York Times, April 15, 1998 When he was transferred by the police from the police station to prison, they were assaulted by screaming and kicking Vitale blood-family members, including his wife Maria Lo Baido and three of his four children.
La Repubblica, April 15, 1998

Sister takes over

After the arrest of all the Vitale brothers, their sister Giuseppa Vitale took over. Giusy as she is called, was arrested in June 1998Mafia showdown averted
BBC News, June 26, 1998 and became a state witness ( pentita) in 2005. She gave testimony about her role as family boss, including how she helped Leonardo to organise "a number of murders" from behind bars.La donna boss si pente: lo faccio per i figli
Corriere della Sera, March 18, 2005
The Daily Telegraph, April 17, 2005 Her brother Leonardo, after learning that his sister started to collaborate with Italian justice, said at a trial: "We disown her whether she's living or dead - and we hope it's the latter, and as quickly as possible."
La Repubblica, April 8, 2005 In October 2005, Vitale's rival

Maurizio Lo Iacono Maurizio is an Italian masculine given name, derived from the Roman name Mauritius. Mauritius is a derivative of Maurus, meaning ''dark-skinned, Moorish''. List of people with the given name Maurizio Art and music * Maurizio Arcieri (born 1945), ...

was shot in Partinico in his car by two men on a scooter with a sawn-off shotgun and a .38 pistol. Lo Iacono died in an ambulance on the way to hospital. Lo Iacono, released from jail only a couple of months ago, was probably killed because he was attempting to take over the affairs of Vito Vitale.Mafia returns to law of the gun
The Observer, October 23, 2005 Police speculate that the murder had been ordered by

, who sided with the Vitale clan.Delitti di Partinico, nuovi scenari
Giornale di Sicilia, October 5, 2005

References

*Jamieson, Alison (2000), ''The Antimafia. Italy’s Fight Against Organized Crime'', London: MacMillan Press 1959 births Living people People from Partinico Sicilian mafiosi {{Mafia