Life sentence for Nino Madonia confirmed: Agent Agostino and wife’s murder.

Last Updated: October 5, 2023

The judges of the Court of Appeal in Palermo have confirmed the life sentence for the boss Nino Madonia in the appeal trial for the murder of police officer Nino Agostino and his pregnant wife, Ida Castelluccio, who were shot to death on August 5, 1989. The boss had chosen an expedited trial and had been sentenced to the same penalty in the first instance in 2021. The prosecution, represented by deputy prosecutors Domenico Gozzo and Umberto De Giglio, had requested the confirmation of the first-instance sentence. The judges of the second section of the Court of Appeal, chaired by Angelo Pellino, delivered the verdict at 4:45pm after entering the deliberation room earlier in the day. The defendant listened to the sentence via video conference. The Court excluded the aggravating circumstance of premeditation for the murder of Ida Castelluccio. Present in the courtroom were deputy prosecutors Domenico Gozzo and Umberto De Giglio, along with the head of the office, prosecutor general Lia Sava. Also present were Nino Agostino’s father, Vincenzo, and his daughter, Flora, seated next to the civil party’s lawyer, Fabio Repici. In this closed-door proceeding, the only defendant is boss Nino Madonia, who had chosen an expedited trial and had been sentenced to life imprisonment in the first instance in 2021. The prosecution has requested the confirmation of the first-instance sentence. Before the court retired to the deliberation room, the defendant, during spontaneous statements, addressed the victim’s father, Vincenzo, saying, “I did not kill your son. It is not justice if I am convicted.” In the trial with ordinary proceedings, on the other hand, which is taking place before the Court of Assize chaired by Sergio Gulotta, the boss Gaetano Scotto is accused of double aggravated murder in conspiracy, and Francesco Paolo Rizzuto is accused of aiding and abetting. Agostino was an officer serving at the San Lorenzo police station in Palermo and, as emerged during the investigations, was part of a group that collaborated with the Secret Services in the capture of fugitive mobsters. Agostino would have been in possession of a “price list” with a list of fugitives.