- Piersanti Mattarella
Piersanti Mattarella (
may 24 ,1935 -january 6 ,1980 ) was an Italian politician. He wasassassinated by theMafia while he held the position of Regional President ofSicily .Biography
Mattarella was born in
Castellammare del Golfo , in theprovince of Trapani . He was the son ofBernardo Mattarella , a member of Christian Democracy (DC); his brother Sergio is also a politician.He received a Christian-oriented education by the
Jesuit s. In 1960 he became a national leader of theAzione Cattolica , and subsequently became an important regional member of DC. Inspired by the politics ofGiorgio La Pira , he adhered to the more progressive approach of national leaderAldo Moro . In 1967 he became deputy to the Regional Parliament of Sicily, a position he held until 1978, when he was elected President of Sicily.Two years later, he was killed by mafia in Palermo: initially suggested to be an act of terrorism, his assassination was probably spurred by its strong commitment against the relationships of numerous Sicilian politicians (mostly members of DC itself) with the Mafia. The latter's involvement was confirmed by the "
pentito "Tommaso Buscetta . The hit team consisted ofNino Madonia ,Vincenzo Puccio andPippo Gambino .According to pentito
Francesco Marino Mannoia , CD-politicianGiulio Andreotti contacted Mafia bossStefano Bontade to try to prevent the Mafia from killing Piersanti Mattarella. Mattarela wanted to clean up the government’s public contracts racket that benefitted Cosa Nostra, passing a law enforcing the same building standards used in the rest of Italy, thereby making the Mafia's building schemes illegal. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_19_53/ai_78692096 Mob Rule - Fighting the Mafia and Renewing Sicilian Culture - Review] , National Review, October 1, 2001] Bontade and other mafiosi felt betrayed by Mattarella who used to be responsive to Mafia interests (his fatherBernardo Mattarella was rumored to be associated with the Mafia).Dickie, "Cosa Nostra", p. 423-24]According to
Francesco Marino Mannoia the killers of Mattarella wereSalvatore Federico ,Francesco Davì ,Santo Inzerillo andAntonio Rotolo . [it icon [http://www.almanaccodeimisteri.info/andreotti29.htm Indictment of Giulio Andreotti] ]Andreotti’s attempt failed. After the murder of Mattarella, Andreotti again contacted Bontade to try to straighten things out. However, according to Marino Mannoia, Bontade told Andreotti: "we are in charge in Sicily, and unless you want the whole DC canceled out, you do as we say."Stille, "Excellent Cadavers", p. 391]
ee also
*Political connections of Stefano Bontade
*Giulio Andreotti References
*Dickie, John (2004). "Cosa Nostra. A history of the Sicilian Mafia", London: Coronet, ISBN 0-340-82435-2
*Stille, Alexander (1995). "Excellent Cadavers. The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic", New York: Vintage ISBN 0-09-959491-9
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