Palermo mafia’s bid to revert to old statute: names revealed in 11 closed investigations

Last Updated: October 29, 2023

Familiar faces in the Palermo judicial chronicles alongside unsuspected “reserved” men of honor, kept apart to be called upon only in times of real need. But above all, loyal to a statute that dictated the rules to the affiliates and was not to be transgressed. Interceptions carried out during a summit in Riesi, in the province of Caltanissetta, revealed the existence of a true decalogue of Cosa Nostra, a code that called on bosses and “picciotti” to respect the oldest principles of the mafia. The investigation conducted by the carabinieri and coordinated by Palermo’s anti-mafia prosecutors allowed a heavy blow to be dealt to the Rocca Mezzomonreale mafia family, a branch of the Pagliarelli mafia. The most important passage was the reference to the statute “written by the founding fathers,” as one of the arrested bosses stated during a meeting in the countryside of Caltanissetta. This statement, according to the magistrates, demonstrated the existence of a sort of mafia constitution, which required continued respect for the ideals and old rules, as well as the imposition of compliance on the affiliates. There were also the “reserved” characters, honor men who remained in the shadows and were called upon by members to settle internal issues, otherwise irreconcilable without severing ties with the mafia, as the historical rule of the indivisibility of Cosa Nostra membership dictated. The investigations also uncovered many episodes that will now be examined during the trial, including the threatened murder, although not carried out, of an architect responsible for a grave mistake in the construction permit of the mafia boss’s nephew. The investigations also shed light on figures completely at the mafia’s disposal, such as the condominium doorman who systematically ensured the confidentiality of relationships with other men of honor. Overall, the investigations revealed various forms of extortion, from the classic method of protection money to more violent and disturbing approaches, such as placing a doll with a bullet embedded in its forehead on the gate of a building.