Pentito
Encyclopedia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations. The government passed legislation creating the judicial category pentiti to fight terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
in the 1970s, during the "Years of Lead". Their correct technical name in Italian is collaboratori di giustizia (collaborators with justice). In the wake of 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...
in 1986-87, and after the testimony of 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...
, the term was more often used for former members of the Sicilian
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...
who abandoned their organization and started helping in investigations.
Role and benefits
In exchange for the information they deliver, pentiti receive shorter sentences for their crimeCrime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s, in some cases even freedom
Freedom (political)
Political freedom is a central philosophy in Western history and political thought, and one of the most important features of democratic societies...
. In the Italian judicial system, pentiti can obtain personal protection, a new name
Name
A name is a word or term used for identification. Names can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. A personal name identifies a specific unique and identifiable individual person, and may or may not include a middle name...
, and some money
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
to start a new life
Life
Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...
in another place, possibly abroad. This practice is common in other countries as well: in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, criminals testifying against their former associates can enter the Witness Protection Program, and be given new identities
Identity (social science)
Identity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology...
, with supporting paperwork.
Cases
Among the most famous Mafia pentiti is Tommaso BuscettaTommaso 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...
, the first important pentito. He was helpful to judge 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...
in describing 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...
or Cupola, the leadership
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
of 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 of pentiti in the fight against terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
(especially against the Red Brigades
Red Brigades
The Red Brigades was a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organisation, based in Italy, which was responsible for numerous violent incidents, assassinations, and robberies during the so-called "Years of Lead"...
), by Carabinieri
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
general Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa
Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa
Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa was a general of the Italian carabinieri notable for campaigning against terrorism during the 1970s in Italy, and later assassinated by the Mafia in Palermo.-Biography:...
(who was later killed by the Mafia).
In the period until the 1990s, there were very few, albeit significant, pentiti such as Tommaso Buscetta, Salvatore Contorno, Antonino Calderone, etc. However, this changed significantly during the early 1990s. From 1992, over a thousand mafiosi have agreed to collaborate with Italian justice.
In some cases, pentiti have invented stories to obtain reductions in jail time. A famous case regarded the popular TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
anchorman Enzo Tortora
Enzo Tortora
Enzo Tortora , was a popular TV host and anchorman on national RAI television, who was falsely accused of being a member of the Camorra and drug trafficking...
, who was falsely accused of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
trafficking and Camorra
Camorra
The Camorra is a Mafia-type criminal organization, or secret society, originating in the region of Campania and its capital Naples in Italy. It is one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy, dating to the 18th century.-Background:...
membership by a pentito named Giovanni Melluso
Giovanni Melluso
Giovanni Melluso was an Italian criminal and alleged associate of the Milanese crime boss, Francis Turatello, who later became a significant informant against the Nuova Camorra Organizzata , a Camorra organization in Naples...
. Tortora was detained for years before being cleared; he developed cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
and died soon after the case was finally solved, some say because of the emotional stress
Stress (medicine)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
of his imprisonment.
Important Mafia pentiti
- Leonardo VitaleLeonardo VitaleLeonardo Vitale was a member of the Sicilian Mafia who was one of the first to become an informant, or pentito, although originally his confessions were not taken seriously. Vitale was a man of honour or member of the Altarello di Baida cosca or family, Altarello being a small village just outside...
(1941–1984) was one of the first to become a pentito in 1973, although originally his confessions were not taken seriously. - Tommaso BuscettaTommaso BuscettaTommaso 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...
(1928–2000) was the first important pentito against the Sicilian Mafia. He started to collaborate with anti-Mafia prosecutor Giovanni FalconeGiovanni FalconeGiovanni 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...
in 1984. His testimony was of crucial importance in the Maxi TrialMaxi TrialThe 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...
. - Salvatore ContornoSalvatore ContornoSalvatore "Totuccio" Contorno is a former member of the Sicilian Mafia who turned into a state witness against Cosa Nostra in October 1984, following the example of Tommaso Buscetta. He gave detailed accounts of the inner-workings of the Sicilian Mafia...
(born 1946) started to collaborate in October 1984, following the example of Buscetta. - Antonino CalderoneAntonino CalderoneAntonino Calderone is a Sicilian Mafioso who turned state witness in 1987 after his arrest in 1986.Antonio was the brother of Giuseppe Calderone, the boss of the Mafia in Catania...
(born 1935) started to collaborate in April 1987. - Francesco Marino MannoiaFrancesco Marino MannoiaFrancesco Marino Mannoia is a former member of the Sicilian Mafia who became a pentito in 1989. His nickname was Mozzarella. He is considered to be one of the most reliable government witnesses against the Mafia...
(born 1951) started to collaborate in October 1989. He was the first pentito that came out of the winning faction of the Second Mafia WarSecond Mafia WarThe Second Mafia War was a conflict within the Sicilian Mafia, mostly taking place in the early 1980s. As with any criminal organization, the history of the Sicilian Mafia is replete with conflicts and power struggles, and the violence that results from them, but these are generally localised and...
. - Giovanni BruscaGiovanni BruscaGiovanni Brusca is a former member of the Sicilian Mafia. He murdered the anti-Mafia prosecutor Giovanni Falcone in 1992 and once stated that he had committed between 100 and 200 murders but was unable to remember the exact number...
, murderer of anti-Mafia prosecutor Falcone, began to collaborate in 1996. - See also :Category:Pentiti
Cultural acceptance
In some southern-Italian communities the Mafia is a significant presence, and in these areas becoming a pentito is tantamount to a death sentence. Indeed, the Mafia family of Totò Riina from Corleone habitually extended this sentence to cover relatives of the pentito. For example, all of Tommaso BuscettaTommaso 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...
's family was killed in a long series of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
s spanning many years.
Furthermore, in the most degraded areas, where people live on the borderline of legality or beyond, there is an induced subculture
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
of hostility towards public institutions and of trust in the Mafia. People will not collaborate with the police (a phenomenon known as omertà
Omertà
Omertà is a popular attitude and code of honour and a common definition is the "code of silence". It is common in areas of southern Italy, such as Sicily, Apulia, Calabria, and Campania, where criminal organizations defined as Mafia such as the Cosa Nostra, 'Ndrangheta, Sacra Corona Unita, and...
), and will consider any pentito an infame, a traitor.
Since the pentito himself is physically protected by the police, retribution on his family is common; therefore, when there are rumours of a mafioso collaborating with the police, the family usually condemns that person immediately to avoid retaliation. For example, when Vincenzo Sinagra
Vincenzo Sinagra
Vincenzo Sinagra was an associate of the Sicilian Mafia who later became a significant informant.Sinagra was not actually a member of the Mafia but just a petty criminal, one of fourteen children to a fisherman from Palermo...
began collaborating with the authorities his entire family disowned him.
Abuse of the term
It is often pointed out that the correct term should be collaboratori di giustizia, or "justice collaborators". The word pentito implies a moralMoral
A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim...
judgement that is considered inappropriate for the courts of justice to make.
Criticism
In Italy, pentiti have 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;
- they would be unreliable, since they come from a criminal organisation.
Criticism comes most often from politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s, especially when they or an associate of theirs is under investigation for connections to the 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...
. It is therefore interpreted by some as an attempt to discredit one's own accusers, instead of a genuine preoccupation of the common citizen's civil rights.
Luciano Violante
Luciano Violante
Luciano Violante is an Italian judge and politician, Member of Parliament since 1979. He is particularly interested in questions of justice, the struggle against the Mafia and institutional reform.-Biography:...
, a politician and former president of the Italian Antimafia Commission
Antimafia Commission
The Italian Antimafia Commission is a bicameral commission of the Italian Parliament, composed of members from the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate . The Antimafia Commission is a commission of inquiry into, initially, the “phenomenon of the Mafia”...
, countered that "We do not find information about the Mafia among nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s."
Laws have been passed that bar pentiti from obtaining substantial benefits unless their revelations are later deemed new material, and lead to concrete results. There have been proposals to accept revelations only for six months, after which their revelations could not be used in court.
This has had the effect of reducing the appeal of becoming a pentito, since a single mafia associate does not know whether his knowledge will be useful to the prosecutors at the time of defection
Defection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
. Defection from mafia in Italy have subsequently sharply reduced from the height reached in the early nineties, and results in the fight against mafia have reduced accordingly.