Salvatore Cancemi
Encyclopedia
Salvatore Cancemi was a member of the Sicilian
Mafia
. He would be the first member of the Sicilian Mafia Commission
that turned himself in voluntarily and became a pentito
, a collaborator with the Italian judicial authorities. Cancemi made controversial allegations about the collusion of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
and his right-hand man Marcello Dell'Utri
with the Mafia, which have not been corroborated.
. In 1985 he substituted Giuseppe Calò
as the boss of the Porta Nuova family after Calò was arrested. He replaced Calò in the Cupola (the Sicilian Mafia Commission
) as head of the mandamento
of Porta Nuova that included the Mafia families of Palermo Centro and Borgo Vecchio as well.
In 1976 Cancemi was sent to jail for stealing a load of meat from a butcher who had refused to pay the pizzo
– protection money. In prison Tommaso Buscetta
took care of the freshly initiated Cancemi. Twenty years later, when Cancemi was reunited with Buscetta at one of the many trials in the 1990s, he confessed that he had personally participated in the strangling of two of Buscetta’s sons in 1982, on the order of Totò Riina. Buscetta embraced Cancemi and said: "You could not refuse the order. I forgive you because I know what it means to be in Cosa Nostra."
Cancemi was involved in the preparations and executions of the murders on Antimafia magistrates Giovanni Falcone
and Paolo Borsellino
in 1992. He acted as a look-out for the team that placed and detonated the bomb at Capaci
which killed Falcone, his wife and three men of his escort. Cancemi initially denied to have participated in the murder on Borsellino, but had to admit his involvement when other pentiti confirmed his participation.
Cancemi described the victory celebration that followed the Capaci bombing. Totò Riina ordered French champagne and while the others toasted Cancemi and another future pentito
, Santo Di Matteo
looked at one another and exchanged a gloomy assessment of Riina and their future: "This cuckold will be the ruin of us all."
station on Piazza Verdi in Palermo
and turned himself in. Riina had been arrested on January 15 that year and his followers stepped up the terrorist strategy that had been started the year before with the killing of Falcone and Borsellino after the Maxi Trial
sentence had been confirmed. He also surrendered his fortune which was estimated to be worth GBP 33 million.
On May 28, 1993, the Mafia detonated a bomb severely damaging the Uffizi
Gallery in Florence starting a series of bomb attacks on places of cultural heritage. A few days after Cancemi’s surrender bombs detonated at the Villa Reale Museum and the Pavilion of Contemporary Art in Milan, on July 27 and the Church of San Giorgio and the Lateran Vicariate in Rome on July 28. In total the attacks left 10 people dead and 93 injured.
Cancemi opposed the violent terrorist strategy and feared for his life because he had said so. Riina’s brother in law Leoluca Bagarella
also suspected that Cancemi had been behind the arrest of the Mafia boss.
would be changed.
In 1996, Cancemi declared that Silvio Berlusconi
and his right-hand man Marcello Dell'Utri
were in direct contact with Riina who ordered the bombings which killed Antimafia magistrates, Giovanni Falcone
and Paolo Borsellino
. After a two-year investigation, magistrates closed the inquiry without charges in 2002. They did not find evidence to corroborate Cancemi’s allegations. Similarly, a two-year investigation, also launched on evidence from Cancemi, into Berlusconi’s alleged association with the Mafia was closed in 1996.
Salvatore Cancemi disclosed that Fininvest
, through Marcello Dell'Utri and mafioso Vittorio Mangano
, had paid Cosa Nostra 200 million lire (100 000 euro) annually. The alleged contacts, according to Cancemi, were to lead to legislation favourable to Cosa Nostra, in particular the harsh 41-bis prison regime. The underlying premise was that Cosa Nostra would support Berlusconi's Forza Italia
party in return for political favours.
Despite convictions for participating in several murders, for instance the ones on Christian Democrat politician Salvatore Lima
(DC - Democrazia Cristiana), the magistrates Giovanni Falcone
and Paolo Borsellino
, and police officer Ninni Cassarà, Cancemi is not incarcerated. When asked about the current apparent 'pax mafiosa', Salvatore Cancemi said: "I find this silence more terrifying than the bombs."
in the secret place where he had been staying as a government witness.
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
. He would be the first member of the Sicilian Mafia Commission
Sicilian Mafia Commission
The Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
that turned himself in voluntarily and became a pentito
Pentito
Pentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations...
, a collaborator with the Italian judicial authorities. Cancemi made controversial allegations about the collusion of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
and his right-hand man Marcello Dell'Utri
Marcello Dell'Utri
Marcello Dell'Utri is an influential Italian politician and senior advisor to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi...
with the Mafia, which have not been corroborated.
Mafia career
Cancemi’s blood family had no tradition within the Mafia, his father had set up a thriving butcher shop. Cancemi was initiated into the Porta Nuova Mafia family in 1976 at the age of 34. His godfather was Vittorio ManganoVittorio Mangano
Vittorio Mangano was a member of the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra. He was well known as the stable keeper at the villa of Silvio Berlusconi in Arcore in the 1970s and as such Mangano is known as "lo stalliere di Arcore"...
. In 1985 he substituted Giuseppe Calò
Giuseppe Calò
Giuseppe 'Pippo' Calò is a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was referred to as the "Mafia's Cashier" because he was heavily involved in the financial side of organized crime, primarily money laundering....
as the boss of the Porta Nuova family after Calò was arrested. He replaced Calò in the Cupola (the Sicilian Mafia Commission
Sicilian Mafia Commission
The Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
) as head of the mandamento
Mandamento
Historically a mandamento was the part of Italian territory under the jurisdiction of a "pretore" which is a kind of magistrate. These divisions were abolished in 1923....
of Porta Nuova that included the Mafia families of Palermo Centro and Borgo Vecchio as well.
In 1976 Cancemi was sent to jail for stealing a load of meat from a butcher who had refused to pay the pizzo
Pizzo (extortion)
In Southern Italy, the pizzo is protection money paid by a business to the Mafia, usually coerced and constituting extortion. The term is derived from the Sicilian pizzu . To wet someone's beak is to pay protection money...
– protection money. In prison Tommaso Buscetta
Tommaso Buscetta
Tommaso Buscetta was a Sicilian mafioso. Although he was not the first pentito in the Italian witness protection program, he is widely recognized as the first important one breaking omertà...
took care of the freshly initiated Cancemi. Twenty years later, when Cancemi was reunited with Buscetta at one of the many trials in the 1990s, he confessed that he had personally participated in the strangling of two of Buscetta’s sons in 1982, on the order of Totò Riina. Buscetta embraced Cancemi and said: "You could not refuse the order. I forgive you because I know what it means to be in Cosa Nostra."
Cancemi was involved in the preparations and executions of the murders on Antimafia magistrates Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone was an Sicilian/Italian prosecuting magistrate born in Palermo, Sicily. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Mafia in Sicily...
and Paolo Borsellino
Paolo Borsellino
Paolo Borsellino was an Italian anti-Mafia magistrate who was killed by a Mafia car bomb in Palermo, less than two months after his fellow anti-Mafia magistrate Giovanni Falcone had been assassinated....
in 1992. He acted as a look-out for the team that placed and detonated the bomb at Capaci
Capaci
Capaci is a town and comune in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy.In 2004 the commune was inhabited by 10,129 people, with the density of 1,688.2 people per square kilometer....
which killed Falcone, his wife and three men of his escort. Cancemi initially denied to have participated in the murder on Borsellino, but had to admit his involvement when other pentiti confirmed his participation.
Cancemi described the victory celebration that followed the Capaci bombing. Totò Riina ordered French champagne and while the others toasted Cancemi and another future pentito
Pentito
Pentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations...
, Santo Di Matteo
Santo Di Matteo
Mario Santo Di Matteo , also known as Mezzanasca, is a member of the Mafia from the town of Altofonte in the province of Palermo, Sicily....
looked at one another and exchanged a gloomy assessment of Riina and their future: "This cuckold will be the ruin of us all."
Pentito
On July 22, 1993, Cancemi walked into the CarabinieriCarabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
station on Piazza Verdi in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
and turned himself in. Riina had been arrested on January 15 that year and his followers stepped up the terrorist strategy that had been started the year before with the killing of Falcone and Borsellino after the Maxi Trial
Maxi Trial
The Maxi Trial was a criminal trial that took place in Sicily during the mid-1980s that saw hundreds of defendants on trial convicted for a multitude of crimes relating to Mafia activities, based primarily on testimony given in as evidence from a former boss turned informant...
sentence had been confirmed. He also surrendered his fortune which was estimated to be worth GBP 33 million.
On May 28, 1993, the Mafia detonated a bomb severely damaging the Uffizi
Uffizi
The Uffizi Gallery , is a museum in Florence, Italy. It is one of the oldest and most famous art museums of the Western world.-History:...
Gallery in Florence starting a series of bomb attacks on places of cultural heritage. A few days after Cancemi’s surrender bombs detonated at the Villa Reale Museum and the Pavilion of Contemporary Art in Milan, on July 27 and the Church of San Giorgio and the Lateran Vicariate in Rome on July 28. In total the attacks left 10 people dead and 93 injured.
Cancemi opposed the violent terrorist strategy and feared for his life because he had said so. Riina’s brother in law Leoluca Bagarella
Leoluca Bagarella
Leoluca Bagarella is an Italian criminal and member of the Sicilian Mafia. He is from the town of Corleone and was a member of the Corleonesi.-Biography:...
also suspected that Cancemi had been behind the arrest of the Mafia boss.
Controversial declarations
Many of the allegations of Cancemi are controversial. Cancemi told prosecutors that the choice of the 1993 mainland bomb targets had been ‘suggested’ to Cosa Nostra since the organisation did not possess sufficient ‘refinement’ to select them autonomously. He said that Totò Riina and others had implied that they had support from individuals inside the State institutions. Riina and Provenzano told him that they had found ‘political contacts’ through which things would improve and legislation regarding the harsh article 41-bis prison regimeArticle 41-bis prison regime
In Italian law, Article 41-bis of the Prison Administration Act is a provision that allows the Minister of Justice or the Minister of the Interior to suspend certain prison regulations...
would be changed.
In 1996, Cancemi declared that Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
and his right-hand man Marcello Dell'Utri
Marcello Dell'Utri
Marcello Dell'Utri is an influential Italian politician and senior advisor to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi...
were in direct contact with Riina who ordered the bombings which killed Antimafia magistrates, Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone was an Sicilian/Italian prosecuting magistrate born in Palermo, Sicily. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Mafia in Sicily...
and Paolo Borsellino
Paolo Borsellino
Paolo Borsellino was an Italian anti-Mafia magistrate who was killed by a Mafia car bomb in Palermo, less than two months after his fellow anti-Mafia magistrate Giovanni Falcone had been assassinated....
. After a two-year investigation, magistrates closed the inquiry without charges in 2002. They did not find evidence to corroborate Cancemi’s allegations. Similarly, a two-year investigation, also launched on evidence from Cancemi, into Berlusconi’s alleged association with the Mafia was closed in 1996.
Salvatore Cancemi disclosed that Fininvest
Fininvest
Fininvest is a financial holding company controlled by Silvio Berlusconi's family and managed by Silvio Berlusconi's eldest daughter Marina Berlusconi.-Structure:...
, through Marcello Dell'Utri and mafioso Vittorio Mangano
Vittorio Mangano
Vittorio Mangano was a member of the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra. He was well known as the stable keeper at the villa of Silvio Berlusconi in Arcore in the 1970s and as such Mangano is known as "lo stalliere di Arcore"...
, had paid Cosa Nostra 200 million lire (100 000 euro) annually. The alleged contacts, according to Cancemi, were to lead to legislation favourable to Cosa Nostra, in particular the harsh 41-bis prison regime. The underlying premise was that Cosa Nostra would support Berlusconi's Forza Italia
Forza Italia
Forza Italia was a liberal-conservative, Christian democratic, and liberal political party in Italy, with a large social democratic minority, that was led by Silvio Berlusconi, four times Prime Minister of Italy....
party in return for political favours.
Despite convictions for participating in several murders, for instance the ones on Christian Democrat politician Salvatore Lima
Salvatore Lima
Salvatore Lima was an Italian politician from Sicily who was murdered by the Mafia. He is often just referred to as Salvo Lima....
(DC - Democrazia Cristiana), the magistrates Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone was an Sicilian/Italian prosecuting magistrate born in Palermo, Sicily. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Mafia in Sicily...
and Paolo Borsellino
Paolo Borsellino
Paolo Borsellino was an Italian anti-Mafia magistrate who was killed by a Mafia car bomb in Palermo, less than two months after his fellow anti-Mafia magistrate Giovanni Falcone had been assassinated....
, and police officer Ninni Cassarà, Cancemi is not incarcerated. When asked about the current apparent 'pax mafiosa', Salvatore Cancemi said: "I find this silence more terrifying than the bombs."
Death
He died on January 14, 2011, of a strokeStroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in the secret place where he had been staying as a government witness.