Vito Cascio Ferro
Encyclopedia
Vito Cascioferro or Vito Cascio Ferro (January 22, 1862 – c.
1942, summer 1943 or 1945), also known as Don Vito, was a prominent member of the Sicilian Mafia. He also operated for several years in the United States
. He is often depicted as the "boss of bosses
", although such a position does not exist in the loose structure of Cosa Nostra in Sicily.
Cascioferro's life is full of myth and mystery. He became a legend even when he was alive, and that legend is partially responsible for creating the image of the gallant gentleman capomafia (Mafia boss). He is widely considered to have been the killer of New York City
police officer Joe Petrosino
, in charge of the Italian Squad, in 1909. However, he has never been convicted for the crime.
With the rise of Fascism
in Italy his untouchable position declined. He was arrested and sentenced to death in 1930 and would remain in jail until his death. The exact year of his death remains unknown.
where he was raised, he was actually born in the city of Palermo
. His parents, Accursio Cascioferro and Santa Ippolito, were poor and illiterate. The family moved to Bisacquino, when his father became a campiere (an armed guard) with the local landlord, Baron Antonino Inglese, a notorious usurper of state-owned land. The position of campiere often involved Mafiosi. According to other sources, at an early age the family moved to Sambuca Zabat
, where he lived for approximately 24 years before relocating to Bisacquino, his recognized power base in the Mafia.
Cascioferro never went to any school. When still young, Cascioferro married a teacher from Bisacquino, Brigida Giaccone, who instructed him how to read and write. He was inducted into the Mafia in the 1880s. He worked as a revenue collector as a young adult, using the position as a cover to carry out his protection racket
. His criminal record began with an assault in 1884 and progressed through extortion, arson and menacing, and eventually to the kidnapping of the 19-year old Baroness Clorinda Peritelli di Valpetrosa in June 1898, for which he received a three-year sentence.
(Sicilian Leagues), a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration, by Bernardino Verro
, the president of the League in Corleone
. The Leagues needed muscle in their social struggle of 1893-94. Cascioferro became the president of the Fascio of Bisacquino.
In January 1894, the Fasci were outlawed and brutally repressed on the orders of Prime Minister Francesco Crispi
. Many leaders were put in jail; Cascioferro fled to Tunis
for a year. After serving his sentence for his role in the peasant unrest, Cascioferro managed to return to a position of social power and pressured authorities in Palermo to put him in charge of granting emigration permits in the district of Corleone. According to Mafia historian Salvatore Lupo, Cascioferro was involved in clandestine emigration networks.
at the end of September 1901. He lived for about 2 years in New York, acting as an importer of fruits and foods. He also spent six months in New Orleans.
On May 21, 1902, Cascioferro was arrested in connection with a large counterfeiting operation in Hackensack, New Jersey
. He was arrested at a barbershop of Giuseppe Romano
on First Avenue that had been distributing the counterfeit money. Cascioferro managed to escape conviction—his alibi was that he worked at a paper mill
—while the other gang members were tried and sentenced.
In New York he became associated with the Morello gang
in Harlem
, headed by Giuseppe Morello
and Ignazio Lupo. In September 1904, he returned to Sicily shortly after police sergeant Joseph Petrosino of the New York City Police Department
ordered his arrest for involvement with the Barrel Murder
; his application for American citizenship was consequently blocked. Petrosino traced him to New Orleans, where Cascioferro had gone to escape detection.
Some observers consider Cascioferro as the one who brought the extortion
practice of "continuing protection" in exchange for protection money (pizzo
) from Sicily to the United States. "You have to skim the cream off the milk without breaking the bottle," he summarized the system. "Don't throw people into bankruptcy with ridiculous demands for money. Offer them protection instead, help them to make their business prosperous, and not only will they be happy to pay but they'll kiss your hands out of gratitude."
) of Domenico De Michele Ferrantelli, the mayor of Burgio
and member of Parliament for the district of Bivona
, as well as on good terms with the Baron Inglese. He exercised influence over several Mafia cosche
(clans) in the towns of Bisacquino, Burgio, Campofiorito
, Chiusa Sclafani
, Contessa Entellina
, Corleone and Villafranca Sicula
, as well as some districts in the city of Palermo.
A semi-factual and romantic portrait by journalist Luigi Barzini
contributed much to form the legend around Don Vito:
Police reports described Cascioferro as notoriously associated with the "high" Mafia, leading a life of luxury, going to the theater, cafés, gambling high sums at the Circolo dei Civili, a club for gentlemen, reserved for those with pretensions to education and elite status .
Cascioferro is considered to be the mastermind behind the murder of New York policeman and head of the Italian Squad, Joe Petrosino, on March 12, 1909. He was shot and killed in Piazza Marina in Palermo; two men were seen running from the crime scene. Petrosino had gone to Sicily to gather information from local police files to help deport Italian gangsters from New York as illegal immigrants. The two men were very much aware of the danger to each other's survival; Petrosino carried a note describing Cascioferro as a “a terrible criminal”, while Cascioferro had a photograph of the police officer.
Many accounts claim that Cascioferro personally killed Petrosino. Legend has it that Cascioferro excused himself from a dinner party among the high society at the home of his political patron De Michele Ferrantelli, took a carriage (that of his host according to some) and drove to Piazza Marina in Palermo's city centre. He and Petrosino engaged in a brief conversation; then Cascioferro killed Petrosino and returned to join the dinner again. Historical reconstructions have dismissed this version and cannot locate Cascioferro at the scene of the crime.
News of the murder spread fast in U.S. newspapers and a swell of anti-Italian sentiment spread across New York. Cascioferro pleaded his innocence and provided an alibi for the entire period when Petrosino was assassinated. He stayed in the house of De Michele Ferrantelli in Burgio. However, the alibi provided by De Michele Ferrantelli was suspicious, taking into account the relation between the two. Moreover, while in jail after his arrest and life sentence in 1930, Cascioferro apparently claimed that he had killed Petrosino. According to writer Arrigo Petacco
in his 1972 book on Joe Petrosino, Cascioferro said: "In my whole life I have killed only one person, and I did that disinterestedly … Petrosino was a brave adversary, and deserved better than a shameful death at the hands of some hired cut-throat."
A report by Baldassare Ceola, the police commissioner of Palermo, concluded that the crime had probably been carried out by Mafiosi Carlo Costantino and Antonino Passananti under Cascioferro's direction. Evidence was thin, however, and the case was effectively closed when in July 1911 the Palermo Court of Appeals discharged Cascioferro, as well as Costantino and Passananti, due to insufficient evidence to send them to trial. Petrosino's murder was never solved.
his reputation and immunity was declining.
In May 1926, Prefect Cesare Mori
, under orders from Fascist leader Benito Mussolini
to destroy the Mafia, arrested Cascioferro in a big round-up in the area that included Corleone and Bisacquino. More than 150 people were arrested. Cascioferro's godson asked the local landlord to intervene, but he refused: "Times have changed", was the reply. He was indicted for participation in 20 murders, eight attempted murders, five robberies with violence, 37 acts of extortion and 53 other offences including physical violence and threats.
He was sentenced to life on June 27, 1930, on the old murder charge. He remained silent during the trial. Cascioferro had been arrested some 69 times before and always had been acquitted, but this time it was different. After hearing the sentence the president of the court asked Cascioferro if he had something to say in his defense. Cascioferro stood up and said: "Gentlemen, as you have been unable to obtain proof of any of the numerous crimes I have committed, you have been reduced to condemning me for the only one I never committed." The "iron prefect", as Mori was known, wanted to give maximum publicity to the event. He had posters printed with pictures of Cascioferro and the text of the court sentence.
. However, according to historian Giuseppe Carlo Marino, Cascioferro was transferred to another prison in Pozzuoli
in 1940, and the octogenarian was left to die during an Allied bombardment of that prison in 1943 (other sources mention 1942).
For years, a sentence believed to be carved by Cascioferro was legible on the wall of his Ucciardone cell: "Prison, sickness, and necessity, reveal the real heart of a man." Inmates considered occupying Don Vito's former cell a great honour. Historians consider this account a legend rather than fact.
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1942, summer 1943 or 1945), also known as Don Vito, was a prominent member of the Sicilian Mafia. He also operated for several years in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He is often depicted as the "boss of bosses
Capo di tutti capi
Capo di tutti capi or capo dei capi is Italian for "boss of all bosses" or "boss of bosses". It is a phrase used mainly by the media, public and the law enforcement community to indicate a supremely powerful crime boss in the Sicilian or American Mafia who holds great influence over the whole...
", although such a position does not exist in the loose structure of Cosa Nostra in Sicily.
Cascioferro's life is full of myth and mystery. He became a legend even when he was alive, and that legend is partially responsible for creating the image of the gallant gentleman capomafia (Mafia boss). He is widely considered to have been the killer of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
police officer Joe Petrosino
Joe Petrosino
Giuseppe "Joe" Petrosino was a New York City police officer who was a pioneer in the fight against organized crime...
, in charge of the Italian Squad, in 1909. However, he has never been convicted for the crime.
With the rise of Fascism
Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
in Italy his untouchable position declined. He was arrested and sentenced to death in 1930 and would remain in jail until his death. The exact year of his death remains unknown.
Early life
Although many sources have identified him as a native of the rural town of BisacquinoBisacquino
Bisacquino is a town and comune in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy. It is located 82 kmfrom Agrigento and currently has approximately 5,215 inhabitants. The small town rises on an inner hill zone and is 663 metres above sea-level...
where he was raised, he was actually born in the city of Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
. His parents, Accursio Cascioferro and Santa Ippolito, were poor and illiterate. The family moved to Bisacquino, when his father became a campiere (an armed guard) with the local landlord, Baron Antonino Inglese, a notorious usurper of state-owned land. The position of campiere often involved Mafiosi. According to other sources, at an early age the family moved to Sambuca Zabat
Sambuca di Sicilia
Sambuca di Sicilia is a comune in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about 68 km southwest of Palermo and about 89 km northwest of Agrigento...
, where he lived for approximately 24 years before relocating to Bisacquino, his recognized power base in the Mafia.
Cascioferro never went to any school. When still young, Cascioferro married a teacher from Bisacquino, Brigida Giaccone, who instructed him how to read and write. He was inducted into the Mafia in the 1880s. He worked as a revenue collector as a young adult, using the position as a cover to carry out his protection racket
Protection racket
A protection racket is an extortion scheme whereby a criminal group or individual coerces a victim to pay money, supposedly for protection services against violence or property damage. Racketeers coerce reticent potential victims into buying "protection" by demonstrating what will happen if they...
. His criminal record began with an assault in 1884 and progressed through extortion, arson and menacing, and eventually to the kidnapping of the 19-year old Baroness Clorinda Peritelli di Valpetrosa in June 1898, for which he received a three-year sentence.
Revolutionary mafioso
While incarcerated for attempted extorsion, Cascioferro was recruited into the Fasci SicilianiFasci Siciliani
The Fasci Siciliani, short for Fasci Siciliani dei Lavoratori , were a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration, which arose in Sicily in the years between 1889 and 1894...
(Sicilian Leagues), a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration, by Bernardino Verro
Bernardino Verro
Bernardino Verro was a Sicilian sindicalist and politician. He was involved in the Fasci Siciliani a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration in 1891-1894, and became the first socialist mayor of Corleone...
, the president of the League in Corleone
Corleone
Corleone is a small town and comune of approximately 12,000 inhabitants in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy....
. The Leagues needed muscle in their social struggle of 1893-94. Cascioferro became the president of the Fascio of Bisacquino.
In January 1894, the Fasci were outlawed and brutally repressed on the orders of Prime Minister Francesco Crispi
Francesco Crispi
Francesco Crispi was a 19th-century Italian politician of Arbëreshë ancestry. He was instrumental in the unification of Italy and was its 17th and 20th Prime Minister from 1887 until 1891 and again from 1893 until 1896.-Sicily:Crispi’s paternal family came originally from the small agricultural...
. Many leaders were put in jail; Cascioferro fled to Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
for a year. After serving his sentence for his role in the peasant unrest, Cascioferro managed to return to a position of social power and pressured authorities in Palermo to put him in charge of granting emigration permits in the district of Corleone. According to Mafia historian Salvatore Lupo, Cascioferro was involved in clandestine emigration networks.
In the United States
Sentenced for the kidnapping of the Baroness of Valpetrosa in 1898, Cascioferro was released in 1900. To escape special police surveillance in Sicily, he sailed to the United States and arrived at New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at the end of September 1901. He lived for about 2 years in New York, acting as an importer of fruits and foods. He also spent six months in New Orleans.
On May 21, 1902, Cascioferro was arrested in connection with a large counterfeiting operation in Hackensack, New Jersey
Hackensack, New Jersey
Hackensack is a city in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States and the county seat of Bergen County. Although informally called Hackensack, it was officially named New Barbadoes Township until 1921. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 43,010....
. He was arrested at a barbershop of Giuseppe Romano
Giuseppe Romano
Giuseppe Romano is a retired Italian professional football player. Born in Brescia, he was the oldest player ever to play for Juventus F.C., at 38 years, 138 days of age.-External links:*...
on First Avenue that had been distributing the counterfeit money. Cascioferro managed to escape conviction—his alibi was that he worked at a paper mill
Paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
—while the other gang members were tried and sentenced.
In New York he became associated with the Morello gang
Morello crime family
The Morello crime family is the direct ancestor of the Genovese crime family, the oldest of New York City's Five Families.-From Corleone to America:...
in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, headed by Giuseppe Morello
Giuseppe Morello
Giuseppe "the Clutch Hand" Morello , also known as "The Old Fox", was the first boss of the Morello crime family and later top adviser to Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria. He was known as Piddu and his rivals the Castellammarese knew him as Peter Morello...
and Ignazio Lupo. In September 1904, he returned to Sicily shortly after police sergeant Joseph Petrosino of the New York City Police Department
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
ordered his arrest for involvement with the Barrel Murder
Barrel murder
A barrel murder was a method of execution used by early American mafiosi since the 1870s, although the earliest recorded barrel murders in New York were reported in 1895 and 1900....
; his application for American citizenship was consequently blocked. Petrosino traced him to New Orleans, where Cascioferro had gone to escape detection.
Some observers consider Cascioferro as the one who brought the extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
practice of "continuing protection" in exchange for protection money (pizzo
Pizzo (extortion)
In Southern Italy, the pizzo is protection money paid by a business to the Mafia, usually coerced and constituting extortion. The term is derived from the Sicilian pizzu . To wet someone's beak is to pay protection money...
) from Sicily to the United States. "You have to skim the cream off the milk without breaking the bottle," he summarized the system. "Don't throw people into bankruptcy with ridiculous demands for money. Offer them protection instead, help them to make their business prosperous, and not only will they be happy to pay but they'll kiss your hands out of gratitude."
Back in Sicily
Back in Sicily, Cascioferro rose to the position of a local notable. He was the capo elettore (ward heelerWard heeler
A ward heeler variously describes a politician or political worker in the United States who is in politics for private gain rather than public service, who does illegal acts on behalf of a political party, or who is a low level political operative soliciting votes and doing chores for a political...
) of Domenico De Michele Ferrantelli, the mayor of Burgio
Burgio
Burgio is a comune in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about 60 km south of Palermo and about 40 km northwest of Agrigento...
and member of Parliament for the district of Bivona
Bivona
Bivona is an Italian comune in the Province of Agrigento, Sicily.-Geography:Bivona is located at the feet of the Monti Sicani, in the mainland of Agrigento, on the boundary with the province of Palermo...
, as well as on good terms with the Baron Inglese. He exercised influence over several Mafia cosche
Cosca
The word cosca is a Sicilian word which refers to any plant – such as the artichoke or the thistle – whose spiny closely folded leaves symbolize the tightness of relationships between members of the Mafia. In the English language this is best described as a clan. It is often used as a synonym for...
(clans) in the towns of Bisacquino, Burgio, Campofiorito
Campofiorito
Campofiorito is a comune in the Province of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about 40 km south of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,379 and an area of 21.4 km²....
, Chiusa Sclafani
Chiusa Sclafani
Chiusa Sclafani is a comune in the Province of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about 50 km south of Palermo...
, Contessa Entellina
Contessa Entellina
Contessa Entellina is a small comune of 1,981 inhabitants in the province of Palermo, in Sicily, southern Italy...
, Corleone and Villafranca Sicula
Villafranca Sicula
Villafranca Sicula is a comune in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about 60 km south of Palermo and about 40 km northwest of Agrigento...
, as well as some districts in the city of Palermo.
A semi-factual and romantic portrait by journalist Luigi Barzini
Luigi Barzini, Jr.
Luigi Barzini Jr. was an Italian journalist, writer and politician most famous for his 1964 book The Italians, delving deeply into the Italian national character and introducing many Anglo-Saxon readers to Italian life and culture.-Early life:Barzini junior was born in Milan, Lombardy, the son of...
contributed much to form the legend around Don Vito:
Don Vito brought the organization to its highest perfection without undue recourse to violence. The Mafia leader who scatters corpses all over the island in order to achieve his goal is considered as inept as the statesman who has to wage aggressive wars. Don Vito ruled and inspired fear mainly by the use of his great qualities and natural ascendancy. His awe-inspiring appearance helped him. … His manners were princely, his demeanour humble but majestic. He was loved by all. Being very generous by nature, he never refused a request for aid and dispensed millions in loans, gifts and general philanthropy. He would personally go out of his way to redress a wrong. When he started a journey, every major, dressed in his best clothes, awaited him at the entrance of his village, kissed his hands, and paid homage, as if he were a king. And he was a king of sorts: under his reign peace and order were observed, the Mafia peace, of course, which was not what the official law of the Kingdom of Italy would have imposed, but people did not stop to draw too fine a distinction.
Police reports described Cascioferro as notoriously associated with the "high" Mafia, leading a life of luxury, going to the theater, cafés, gambling high sums at the Circolo dei Civili, a club for gentlemen, reserved for those with pretensions to education and elite status .
The Petrosino murder
Many accounts claim that Cascioferro personally killed Petrosino. Legend has it that Cascioferro excused himself from a dinner party among the high society at the home of his political patron De Michele Ferrantelli, took a carriage (that of his host according to some) and drove to Piazza Marina in Palermo's city centre. He and Petrosino engaged in a brief conversation; then Cascioferro killed Petrosino and returned to join the dinner again. Historical reconstructions have dismissed this version and cannot locate Cascioferro at the scene of the crime.
News of the murder spread fast in U.S. newspapers and a swell of anti-Italian sentiment spread across New York. Cascioferro pleaded his innocence and provided an alibi for the entire period when Petrosino was assassinated. He stayed in the house of De Michele Ferrantelli in Burgio. However, the alibi provided by De Michele Ferrantelli was suspicious, taking into account the relation between the two. Moreover, while in jail after his arrest and life sentence in 1930, Cascioferro apparently claimed that he had killed Petrosino. According to writer Arrigo Petacco
Arrigo Petacco
Arrigo Petacco is an Italian writer, historian and journalist.- Life and activities :He was special envoy, editor-in-chief and executive director of La Nazione and La Storia Illustrata, and author of the homonymous monthly television program on the RAI.He began his journalistic career at Il...
in his 1972 book on Joe Petrosino, Cascioferro said: "In my whole life I have killed only one person, and I did that disinterestedly … Petrosino was a brave adversary, and deserved better than a shameful death at the hands of some hired cut-throat."
A report by Baldassare Ceola, the police commissioner of Palermo, concluded that the crime had probably been carried out by Mafiosi Carlo Costantino and Antonino Passananti under Cascioferro's direction. Evidence was thin, however, and the case was effectively closed when in July 1911 the Palermo Court of Appeals discharged Cascioferro, as well as Costantino and Passananti, due to insufficient evidence to send them to trial. Petrosino's murder was never solved.
Downfall
In 1923 the sub-prefect of Corleone warned the Ministry of Interior that Cascioferro was "one of the worst offenders, quite capable of committing any crime." In May 1925, he was arrested as the instigator of a murder. He was able to be released on bail, as usual. However, with the rise of FascismItalian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
his reputation and immunity was declining.
In May 1926, Prefect Cesare Mori
Cesare Mori
Cesare Mori was a prefect before and during the Fascist period in Italy. He is known in Italy as the Iron Prefect because of his iron-fisted campaigns against the Mafia on Sicily in the second half of the 1920s.- Early years :Mori was born in Pavia and grew up in an orphananage and was only...
, under orders from Fascist leader Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
to destroy the Mafia, arrested Cascioferro in a big round-up in the area that included Corleone and Bisacquino. More than 150 people were arrested. Cascioferro's godson asked the local landlord to intervene, but he refused: "Times have changed", was the reply. He was indicted for participation in 20 murders, eight attempted murders, five robberies with violence, 37 acts of extortion and 53 other offences including physical violence and threats.
He was sentenced to life on June 27, 1930, on the old murder charge. He remained silent during the trial. Cascioferro had been arrested some 69 times before and always had been acquitted, but this time it was different. After hearing the sentence the president of the court asked Cascioferro if he had something to say in his defense. Cascioferro stood up and said: "Gentlemen, as you have been unable to obtain proof of any of the numerous crimes I have committed, you have been reduced to condemning me for the only one I never committed." The "iron prefect", as Mori was known, wanted to give maximum publicity to the event. He had posters printed with pictures of Cascioferro and the text of the court sentence.
Death and legacy
The most common account of his death is that he died of natural causes in 1945 while serving his sentence at Ucciardone prison in Palermo. However, Italian author Petacco found evidence for his 1972 book on Joe Petrosino that Cascioferro may have died of dehydration in the summer of 1943. According to Petacco, Cascioferro was left behind in his cell by prison guards while other inmates were evacuated in advance of the Allied invasion of SicilyAllied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
. However, according to historian Giuseppe Carlo Marino, Cascioferro was transferred to another prison in Pozzuoli
Pozzuoli
Pozzuoli is a city and comune of the province of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean peninsula.-History:Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of Dicaearchia...
in 1940, and the octogenarian was left to die during an Allied bombardment of that prison in 1943 (other sources mention 1942).
For years, a sentence believed to be carved by Cascioferro was legible on the wall of his Ucciardone cell: "Prison, sickness, and necessity, reveal the real heart of a man." Inmates considered occupying Don Vito's former cell a great honour. Historians consider this account a legend rather than fact.
External links
- Biography of Vito Cascio Ferro on Gangrule
- Biography of Vito Cascio Ferro on The American Mafia