Pentito
Pentito(Italian pronunciation:[penˈtiːto];lit. "repentant"; plural:pentiti) is used colloquially to designate collaborators of justice in Italiancriminal procedureterminology who were formerly part of criminal organizations and decided to collaborate with apublic prosecutor.The judicial category ofpentitiwas originally created in 1970s to combat violence andterrorismduring the period of left-wing and right-wing terrorism known as theYears of Lead.During the 1986–87Maxi Trialand after the testimony ofTommaso Buscetta,the term was increasingly applied to former members oforganized crime in Italywho had abandoned their organization and started helping investigators.
Role and benefits[edit]
In exchange for the information they deliver,pentitireceive shorter sentences for their crimes, in some cases even freedom. In the Italian judicial system,pentitican obtain personal protection, a new name, and some money to start a new life in another place, possibly abroad.
This practice is common in other countries as well. In the United States, criminalstestifying against their former associatescan enter theWitness Protection Program,and be given new identities with supporting paperwork.[1]The Italian Mafia bosses Buscetta andFrancesco Marino Mannoiawere allowed to live in the U.S. under new identities in the Witness Protection Program when Italy did not yet have such a program.[2][3]
Cases[edit]
Among the most famous MafiapentitiisTommaso Buscetta,the first importantpentito.He was helpful to judgeGiovanni Falconein describing theSicilian Mafia CommissionorCupola,theleadershipof the Sicilian Mafia in the 1980s, and identifying the main operational channels that the Mafia used for its business.
In Italy, important successes were achieved with the cooperation ofpentitiin the fight againstterrorism(especially against theRed Brigades), byCarabinierigeneralCarlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa(who was later killed by the Mafia).
In the period until the 1990s, there were very few, albeit significant,pentitisuch as Tommaso Buscetta, Salvatore Contorno, Antonino Calderone, etc. However, this changed significantly during the early 1990s. From 1992, over a thousandmafiosihave agreed to collaborate with Italian justice.[4]
In some cases,pentitihave invented stories to obtain reductions in jail time. A famous case regarded the popular TVanchormanEnzo Tortora,who was falsely accused ofcocainetrafficking andCamorramembership by apentitonamedGiovanni Melluso.Tortora was detained for years before being cleared; he developed cancer and died soon after the case was finally solved, some say because of the emotionalstressof his imprisonment.[5]
Importantpentitiof the Sicilian Mafia[edit]
- Leonardo Vitale(1941–1984) was the first to become apentitoin 1973, although originally his confessions were not taken seriously.
- Tommaso Buscetta(1928–2000) was the first high-profilepentitoagainst the Sicilian Mafia. He started to collaborate with the anti-Mafia prosecutorGiovanni Falconein 1984. His testimony was of crucial importance in the landmarkMaxi Trialof 1986–87.
- Salvatore Contorno(born 1946) started to collaborate in October 1984, following the example of Buscetta.
- Leonardo Messina(born 1955), member of theSan Cataldoclan, who became an informant in 1992. He was the greater accuser ofGiulio Andreotti.
- Antonino Giuffrè(born 1945), boss ofCaccamoand member ofCorleonesi,turned informant in 2002, after his arrest.
- Antonino Calderone(1935–2013) started to collaborate in April 1987.
- Francesco Marino Mannoia(born 1951) started to collaborate in October 1989 because his brother had been murdered. He was the firstpentitowho used to belong to the winning faction of theSecond Mafia War(1981–83).
- Giovanni Brusca(born 1957), the murderer of anti-Mafia prosecutor Falcone, began to collaborate in 1996.
- Santino Di Matteo(born 1954), became an informant in 1993 after his arrest; offered information relating to theCapaci bombing,for this reason his son Giuseppe was kidnapped, murdered and dissolved in acid.
- Salvatore Cancemi(1942–2011), another of Falcone's assassins, turned himself to theCarabinieriin July 1993 and immediately began collaborating.
- Giuseppe Marchese(1963), Filippo Marchese's nephew and who became an informant in 1992.
- Gaspare Mutolo(born 1940), started to collaborate in prison in May 1992 and was the first mafioso who spoke about the connections between theCosa Nostraand Italian politicians.
Other importantpentiti[edit]
- Pasquale Barra(1942–2015), the firstpentitoand high-ranking member ofRaffaele Cutolo'sNuova Camorra Organizzata.
- Pasquale Galasso(born 1955), former high-ranking member of theNuova Famigliafaction of the Camorra.
- Carmine Alfieri(born 1943), formerBoss of Bossesof theNuova Famiglia.
- Carmine Schiavone(1943–2015), former high-ranking member of theCasalesi clan.
- Maurizio Abbatino,former boss of theBanda della Magliana.
- Felice Maniero(born 1954), former boss of theMala del Brenta.
Cultural acceptance[edit]
In some southern Italian communities, the Mafia has a significant presence, and in these areas becoming apentitois tantamount to a death sentence. Indeed, the Mafia family ofTotò Riinabased in the town ofCorleonehabitually extended the death sentence of thepentitiover to their relatives. For example, several ofTommaso Buscetta's close family members were killed in a long series of murders.[6]
Commentary on the term[edit]
It is often pointed out that the correct term should becollaboratori di giustizia,or "collaborators with justice". The wordpentitoimplies a moral judgment that is considered inappropriate for the courts of justice to make.[7]
Criticism[edit]
In Italy,pentitihave come under criticism because of the favours they receive and because they would invent stories to receive benefits; they would invent stories to persecute people they do not like; their employment is seen as a reward for criminals, instead of a punishment; and they would be unreliable since they come from a criminal organization. Criticism comes most often from politicians,[who?]especially when they or an associate of theirs is under investigation for connections tothe Mafia.[citation needed]It is therefore interpreted by some as an attempt to discredit one's own accusers, instead of a genuine preoccupation of the common citizen'scivil rights.Luciano Violante,a politician and former president of the ItalianAntimafia Commission,countered that "We do not find information about the Mafia amongnuns."[8]
Laws have been passed that barpentitifrom obtaining substantial benefits unless their revelations are later deemed new material, and lead to concrete results. The State can collect revelations only for six months after the initial intention to collaborate, after which they cannot be used in court.[9]This has had the effect of reducing the appeal of becoming apentitosince a single mafia associate does not know whether his knowledge will be useful to the prosecutors at the time of defection. Defection from the mafia in Italy have subsequently sharply reduced from the height reached in the early nineties, and results in the fight against mafia have reduced[citation needed]accordingly.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^U.S. Marshals site,aPDsource
- ^Mob Boss and Stoolie Share a Day in Rome Court,The New York Times,November 20, 1993
- ^Stille,Excellent Cadavers,p. 302-10
- ^Martin J. Bull, James L. Newell,Italian Politics,Google Print, p. 111.
- ^Enzo Tortora: When justice miscarriesArchivedApril 5, 2015, at theWayback Machine,The Florentine, October 30, 2008
- ^Bagli, Charles V. (June 12, 2019)."They Hid From the Mob for Decades. Now They Will Surface in a Film. (Published 2019)".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedNovember 2,2020.
- ^Backlash threatens to silence informers,The Independent, May 2, 1997
- ^Luciano Violante,Non è la piovra: Dodici tesi sulle mafie italiane( "It is not the octopus: twelve theses on Italian Mafias" ),Einaudi,1994,ISBN88-06-13401-9.
- ^D'Alessio, Valeria (July 24, 2017)."Il" pentito ": dissidio interiore tra onore, rispetto verso il clan e senso di giustizia".Ius in itinere(in Italian).RetrievedApril 26,2023.
il pentito ha un tempo massimo di sei mesi per dire tutto quello che sa, il tempo inizia a decorrere dal momento in cui il pentito dichiara la sua disponibilità a collaborare; [a "pentito" has 6 months to say everything he knows, from the declaration of intent to collabolate;]
Bibliography[edit]
- Stille, Alexander(1995).Excellent Cadavers. The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic,New York: VintageISBN0-09-959491-9
| Authority control databases:National |
|---|
