Friends of Ours

Mob Scion Proudly Claims Riina Name

Salvatore "Toto" Riina, the former boss of bosses for Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia, was a drug trafficker, serial murderer and terrorist thug but his son Giuseppe Salvatore Riina nevertheless is proud of the old man as reported by ANSA:  "I am honoured to be the son of Toto' Riina and Antonietta Bagarella," and "it is a surname that was given to me by two parents who were able to teach me many things: values, morals."

Toto Riina is serving a life term in prison on multiple murder convictions following his 1993 arrest.

Of course, not everyone is so proud of Toto Riina.  The notorious boss was born in Corleone, and earlier this year on the 20th anniversary of his arrest Mayor Leoluchina Savona apologized for her town's historic role as a safe haven for the Mafia which is responsible for great suffering in Italy and throughout the world as then reported by Nick Squires for The Telegraph: 

"I apologise in the name of all the people of Corleone. I ask forgiveness for the blood that was spilled," the mayor said on Monday during a ceremony to mark the anniversary of Riina's arrest.  "To the Mafia, I ask you to leave this land, to abandon the struggle. I ask them to admit defeat, to surrender."

Toto Riina ordered the mob's stragismo -- strategy of terror -- against the state in the early 1990s which included the 1992 murders of anti-Mafia judges Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone in separate bomb attacks.

Giuseppe himself served nearly nine years on a Mafia association conviction, and currently "lives under special surveillance" performing community service.

Corleone Mayor: "So Sorry"

Corleone is the birthplace of notorious "boss of bosses" Toto Riina, and on the 20th anniversary of the mobster's arrest Mayor Leoluchina Savona has apologized for her town's historic role as a safe haven for Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia which is responsible for great suffering in Italy and throughout the world as reported by Nick Squires for The Telegraph: 

"I apologise in the name of all the people of Corleone. I ask forgiveness for the blood that was spilled," the mayor said on Monday during a ceremony to mark the anniversary of Riina's arrest.  "To the Mafia, I ask you to leave this land, to abandon the struggle. I ask them to admit defeat, to surrender."

In Sicily a new generation is mobilizing through anti-Mafia organization such as Libera Terra and Addiopizzo Travel to rid the region of Cosa Nostra as reported by Nancy Greenleese for Deutsche Welle:

"It became important to stay put and make Sicily better, to possibly bring about changes," said [28-year-old Francesco] Galante, his mellow manner masking a steely determination. A few years ago, he started volunteering in the anti-Mafia movement and eventually rose to his position as Libera Terra's communications director. Nearly all of his cohorts in the movement are under 35. They say they have the energy to take on the mobsters - and the guts, too. "It is slow going and will take a long time," said Galante, "but we have the feeling that, bit by bit, something is happening."

Anti-Mafia activism has become a youth movement which boldly is telling the gangsters to take a hike.

Thailand Will Extradite Mafia Banker

Vito Roberto Palazzolo, convicted in absentia by an Italian court in 2009 for laundering money for "boss of bosses" Toto Riina and Bernardo Provenzano from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia, will be will be extradited from Thailand following his arrest in Bangkok earlier this year after a long international chase to apprehend him as reported by International Business Times.

Palazzolo was found from clues he and his relatives left on their Facebook profiles as reported by Alessio Fratticcioli for the Digital Journal.

The money man previously was implicated in the so-called Pizza Connection case in which the Mafia distributed $1.6 billion of heroin smuggled from Italy through NYC pizzerias between 1975 and 1984 as reported by BBC News.

Drugs, drugs, drugs.  At the end of the day it's always about drugs, and don't buy the Mafia party line that it's not involved with drugs.

Mobster Gives Himself Away On Facebook

A fugitive mobster left a trail on Facebook for authorities to follow.

Vito Roberto Palazzolo, convicted in absentia by an Italian court in 2009 for laundering money for "boss of bosses" Toto Riina and Bernardo Provenzano from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia, has been arrested in Bangkok, Thailand after a long international chase to apprehend him as reported by AGI:  he "had been convicted to a nine-year sentence for Mafia-style criminal conspiracy and had traveled from South Africa - a Country that has always denied extradition - to Hong Kong and subsequently to Thailand."

Palazzolo was found from clues he and his relatives left on their Facebook profiles as reported by Alessio Fratticcioli for the Digital Journal.

The money man previously was implicated in the so-called Pizza Connection case in which the Mafia distributed $1.6 billion of heroin smuggled from Italy through NYC pizzerias between 1975 and 1984 as reported by BBC News.

Drugs, drugs, drugs.  At the end of the day it's always about drugs, and don't buy the Mafia party line that it's not involved with drugs.

The Beast's Son Returns To Corleone

Giovanni Salvatore Riina, the son of former "boss of bosses" Toto "the Beast" Riina from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia, is back home with his mother in Corleone after serving nearly nine years in prison on a Mafia association charge as reported by Adnkronos.  The mayor of Corleone said the mob scion "is not welcome here and must leave" as reported by AGI News.