July 19, 2010 marked the 18th anniversary of Judge Paolo Borsellino’s tragic and violent death in Palermo. Borsellino was Judge Giovane Falcone’s partner in exposing, prosecuting, and eventually convicting 360 of the 474 accused members of Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian mob, in 1992 (Harris). The trial, referred to as the Maxi Trial due to the unprecedented number of Mafiosi being tried, was conducted from 1986-1987 in Palermo and the very public and judiciary assault on organized crime was unlike anything Sicily or Italy had ever seen. Of course, given the public spectacle and previously unimaginable crackdown on Cosa Nostra that included the exposure of the mafia’s long-kept secrets of methodology, organizational structure, and sources of power, Falcone and Borsellino were made immediate, if well-protected, targets for mafia assassination. Cosa Nostra succeeded in their assassination attempts on Falcone on his way from the Palermo airport to the center of the city on May 23, 1992 and on Borsellino as he was leaving his mother’s apartment in Palermo on July 19, 1992. Both men and their many police escorts were “literally blown to pieces” in brutal car bombings that shook Palermo and introduced the world to Sicily’s “season of slaughter” (Willey). [A video showing the aftermath of the Borsellino bombing is attached at the bottom of this post, as I believe it portrays the level of destruction caused by Cosa Nostra. ]
The public outcry and extensive publicity of the horrific mafia actions following the assassinations was, at least, a positive result of heinous crimes. However, in the decade following the murders the Anti-Mafia Pool to which Falcone and Borsellino belonged was dismantled and now, 18 years after the assassinations, it appears that Cosa Nostra is reasserting its former power in the streets of Palermo.
On July 18th this year, statues of Falcone and Borsellino were smashed and toppled in Palermo in an apparent pro-mafia statement which some say is effectively killing them twice (Harris). The act, perpetrated by unknown (read: cowardly) offenders is disappointing and disgusting, but equally disappointing was the low turnout for the anti-mafia rally held every year in honor of the two magistrates. This year roughly 100 Palermitani visibily stood up against the mafia, which betrays in the face of fear what I felt to be a much stronger anti-mafia sentiment in Sicily’s capital.
Borsellino & Falcone Statues Vandalized July 19, 2010
The actions taken by what can only be assumed to be members of Cosa Nostra, or its sympathizers at least, are upsetting not only because of the damage done to the memory of two of Sicily’s most heroic men but also because it signals a renewed arrogance and violence of organized crime in the region. The international reaction to these acts has been swift and vocally abhorrent but we cannot assume that the acts were born as a fluke in a peaceful culture. The vandalism signals a more public resurgence, however small, of mafia activity and could, at worst, be viewed as a hint toward the decided end of support of anti-mafia figures and movements. This vandalism shows how the mafia can and will rear its head and make itself be heard, even on occasions that are distinctly against them.
This power struggle between the Sicilian public and Cosa Nostra is made worse by Berlusconi’s newly proposed “gag law” that would restrict wiretapping and eavesdropping on politicians, and prevent journalists from publishing resulting transcripts (Hooper). Without timely and accurate information about the activities of Sicilian and Italian politicians, the public is at a severe disadvantage in knowing the true culture of the society they are living in. Furthermore, reigning in journalists from reporting political and judicial scandal would drastically limit the public’s ability to respond or organize anti-corruption and anti-mafia movements, as well as seriously deflate anti-mafia sentiment, leading to a continued collective attitude of helplessness. Berlusconi insists that the gag law would not apply to mafia or terrorist groups, but what of the Mafiosi politicians? A good example would be Berlusconi’s former premiere top aide, Sen. Marcello Dell’Utri, a politician who maintained close relations and contact with three Mafia bosses: Stefano Bontade, Salvatore Toto Riina, and Bernardo Provenzano; Riina and Provenzano are known to have been behind the season of slaughter and the particular deaths of Falcone and Borsellino (Harris; Israely). In 2009, Toto Riina broke his omerta to inform prosectutors that members of the Italian state may have been involved in the killing of Paolo Borsellino and it seems that Dell’Utri would be a strong lead given that information (Israely). The question arises: would Dell’Utri then be protected from investigation under Berlusconi’s new law? The connection makes clear the corruption of the Italian state, and further clarifies the potentially ruinous effects of Berlusconi’s new law on essential Mafia investigation.
Berlusconi’s gag law is scheduled for voting in the Italian Parliament next week, on July 29th. Let’s hope that the decision does not further impede Sicilians’ ability to understand the mafia and its perpetual destruction, just as Cosa Nostra itself has succeeded in doing for centuries.
Works Cited
Harris, Judith. “Falcone and Borsellino Die Again.” Italian/American Digital Project: i-Italy. July 19, 2010. http://www.i-italy.org/15141/falcone-and-borsellino-die-again
Israely, Jeff. “A Mafia Boss Breaks Silence on an Assassination.” Time Magazine Online. August 3, 2009. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1914284,00.html
Willey, David. “Sicilians Commemorate Murdered Judge Paolo Borsellino.” BBC News, Rome. July 19, 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10692732
Miranda
