Italy struggles to deal with an aged “godfather”!
Salvatore "Toto" Riina was the boss of the Corleonesi throughout the 1970's and 80's until his arrest in 1993. He was known as a ruthless and violent man, often being nicknamed "The Beast". Riina is believed to be involved in over 1000 murders and was regarded as Sicily's boss of bosses.
The peasants from Corleone
Salvatore Riina was born in Corleone on November 16, 1930. During his teens he became affiliated with the Corleone Mafia which was under the command of Michele Navarra, a respected doctor from Corleone. Like many mafioso Riina was born inside a connected family. His uncle Giacamo, for instance, was a made member. During the late 1940's
A young Salvatore Riina
Riina joined a faction headed by Luciano Leggio, a man with a violent reputation, who would become his mentor. In 1949 Riina was ordered to murder a man named Domenico DeMateo, who would become his first victim. He was arrested for the crime and was jailed for 6 years.
After returning home from prison he returned to his old village and got involved in smuggling cigarets, stealing cattle and extorting shopkeepers. During those years other mobsters who belonged to wealthier and more powerful clans disregarded Leggio's group as "peasants". A name which would prove costly to those who ever said it. As the 1950's got to it's mid Luciano Leggio and his crew became less dependent of boss Michele Navarra. Both groups also found it harder and harder to keep working together until it reached a culmination point where Navarra decided to eliminate Leggio. In the summer of 1958 Leggio barely escaped a murder attempt which only fueled his rage.
A couple of weeks after the failed murder attempt Leggio and his men stroke back. A murder squad was put together which included Salvatore Riina and Bernardo Provenzano. On August 2, 1958, Navarra and a fellow doctor were driving home when they were suddenly ambushed with machine gun fire. The car was riddled with bullets and both Navarra and his companion were killed. In the following weeks and months several Navarra loyalists were murdered as well, in order for Leggio to take control of the Corleone clan.
The Falcone murder
In 1992 Salvatore "The Beast" Riina finally got to Falcone. Giovanni Brusca, a man belonging to a long mafia dynasty and loyal to Riina, was ordered to take care of the man who had tormented Riina for so long. On May 23, 1992, Brusca and his men planted a huge bomb under a piece of motorway leading to Palermo airport. Falcone and his wife were travelling in an armored Fiat as a safety precaution and were escorted by several policemen. As they were heading for the town of Capaci Brusca and his men were waiting for them from a distance. They waited for the right moment and when Falcone's escort reached the bomb they set it off. A massive explosion followed and several cars, including Falcone's, were destroyed as was a segment of the road. Falcone and his wife died instantly and also 3 agents were killed. Riina had now taken his revenge and targetted Paolo Borsellino as next victim. Only one month later Borsellino was killed by a car bomb near his home. The deaths of both magistrates enraged the people, who had enough of the violence and constant threath of the Corleonesi.
“A boss like Riina can even give orders just with his eyes.”