Challenging the Mafia Mystique

Transcription

1 Challenging the Mafia Mystique

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3 Challenging the Mafia Mystique Cosa Nostra from Legitimisation to Denunciation Rino Coluccello Coventry University, UK

4 Salvatore Coluccello 2016 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act First published 2016 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number , of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

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7 Contents Preface Acknowledgements viii x Introduction 1 1 The Origins of the Mafia as a Criminal Phenomenon and as a Spirit 6 2 The Abolition of Feudalism, Mafia in the Unified Kingdom and I Mafiusi di la Vicaria 17 3 Public and Private Enquiries on the Criminal Consortium... but the Mafia Doesn t Exist 36 4 Mafia and Politics in Sicilian Society at the End of the 19th Century: The Notarbartolo Affair, the Formation of Sicilianism and Consolidation of the Mafia Mystique 59 5 The Literature of Defence and the Heresy of Don Sturzo 70 6 The Popular Legitimisation of the Mafia: The Beati Paoli and the Mafioso as an Avenger 89 7 Fascism and the Surrender of the Mafia, the Allied Invasion and the Return of the Villains The Breaking Point: Danilo Dolci and a New Image of the Mafia Leonardo Sciascia: The Writer as the Public Conscience 178 Conclusion 216 Notes 225 Bibliography 239 Index 251 vii

8 Preface With a turnover estimated at over 180 billion euros (Unimpresa 2014), which allegedly accounts for about 10% of Italy s GDP (in 2013), the Italian mafias are certainly as wealthy as ever. Although there are many other organised criminal groups operating and emerging in many countries, none of them have so far shown the sophistication and the insightfulness necessary to fill the Italian mafias shoes. The Sicilian mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra) is perhaps the most intriguing criminal phenomenon in the world, an unparalleled organised criminal grouping that, over almost two centuries, has been able not only to permeate successfully the licit and illicit economy, politics and civil society but also to influence and exercise authoritative power over both the underworld and the upper-world. This criminal phenomenon has been a captivating conundrum for scholars of different disciplines who have tried to explain with various paradigms the reasons behind the emergence and consolidation of the Sicilian mafia. This book is an analysis of the social and cultural representations of the Sicilian mafia which have been popularised for many decades in the Italian public and cultural debate, representations ranging from legitimisation to denunciation. It seeks to highlight how the mafia as a criminal and cultural phenomenon was already present in the emergent, post-risorgimento, Liberal state, but it remained largely unrecognised until the second half of the 20th century and it was even defended by a wide range of intellectuals as an element of the Sicilian character and culture. From these apologetic defences emerged the Sicilian pathology, later known as sicilianismo, and the mystique of the mafia. In spite of important investigations at the end of the 19th century, together with the acute analysis by Franchetti and Sonnino, Alongi and Colajanni, and the Notarbartolo affaire, which provided proof of the connivance between mafia and politics, for many decades the public and scientific debate was dominated by the paradigm of the mafia as individual attitude and behaviour. Alongside the latter challenge posed by the Sicilianist movement 1 in the first decades of the 20th century, an old conceptualisation of the mafia as secret society found prominence with the publication of the novel I Beati Paoli by Luigi Natoli. viii

9 Preface ix The plot concerned a secret sect, the Beati Paoli, which administered justice in situations where weakness and corruption of public authorities occurred, opposing short-sighted legalistic approaches and avenging the sufferings of oppressed people. The novel consolidated the myth of the mafioso as a social avenger and the mafia itself as a chivalrous organisation founded on a code of honour. 2 In the first half of the 20th century only one Sicilian intellectual, Don Luigi Sturzo, a Catholic priest and founder of the Popular Party in Italy, recognised the mafia for what it was: a violent, criminal phenomenon. Fascism marked a decisive turn in the fight against the mafia due to the actions of the prefect Cesare Mori, but his campaign did not substantially alter the image and legitimacy of the organised criminal group. Only in the post-world War II period did the mafia come to be viewed, above all, as organised crime and corruption and, consequently, as an organisation to be denounced. This transformation was primarily due to the engagement of sociologist Danilo Dolci and Sicilian writer Leonardo Sciascia, both of whom alerted public opinion to the fact that behind the mafia lay a web of political and economic interests. The mafia, no longer colourful and eulogistic, is apparent in both the documentary-investigatory writing of Danilo Dolci and the fiction of Leonardo Sciascia. They have revealed the inner, non-romanticised nature of Cosa Nostra. Their writing is no longer contemplative, folkloristic, and commendatory, but has become a matter of conscience and condemnation. This new literary production made slow progress to begin with, but after the publication of Spreco (Waste) in 1960 by Danilo Dolci and Il giorno della civetta (The Day of the Owl) in 1961 by Leonardo Sciascia, the theme of the mafia becomes central. Notes 1. A cultural and political movement that was promoted by Sicily s ruling strata and developed in order to oppose what was perceived as an indiscriminate criminalisation of all Sicilians by the Italian law enforcement apparatus and Italian public opinion as a whole. 2. The novel was inspired by a book titled I Beati Paoli by Sicilian writer Vincenzo Linares, published on 20 and 30 December 1836 for the magazine Il vapore.

10 Acknowledgements Each work and, even more, a book is nurtured by ideas, suggestions, stimuli, considerations and various supports. This book would not have been possible without the help of individuals and institutions. I owe a special debt to Professor Joseph Farrell. With competence and attention he monitored the development of this study. I am also grateful to Professor Antonio Motta and the Study Centre on Leonardo Sciascia. Special thanks go to my friend, Professor Glynis Cousin, who patiently followed the progress of this work and who has always encouraged me to go ahead despite the tough times. And also, my friend Barbara Pederzini with her nitpicking read of the first draft of the work. I was very fortunate to spend some time in Sicily between the mid-1990s and early 2000s while also pursuing the research for this book. I am especially indebted to Danilo Dolci s family, collaborators and friends in Partinico and Trappeto. A special thanks to his son Amico, who allowed me to research at Centro Studi e Iniziative in Partinico and at the Borgo di Dio, and to Benedetto Zenone in Trappeto and Vito La Fata at Cesie who keep alive Dolci s name and his initiatives. I am also grateful to Professor Giuseppe Casarrubea in Partinico and Umberto Santino and Anna Puglisi for their valuable advice. During my frequent visits to Sicily with my students, I also greatly benefited from the help of Addiopizzo Travel. In particular, Edo Zaffuto gave me valuable suggestions on the legacy of Danilo Dolci on the antiracket organisation. Several people read the manuscript of Challenging the Mafia Mystique. I am especially indebted to my colleagues in the Department of International Studies and Social Science at Coventry University. The book has benefited greatly from discussion with Simon May, who also patiently re-read the final manuscript before submission, Professor Bruce Baker, Alex Thompson, Simon Massey, Cheryl Hudson and Tom Thurnell-Reid, who each provided constructive criticism and valuable advice. Equally, I extend my appreciation for generous and astute feedback on earlier drafts of the book. I owe a special debt of gratitude to my colleagues Monica Massari at University Federico II in Naples and Vittorio Coco at the University of Palermo. Thanks also to colleagues in my previous Department of Italian Studies: Dr. Marina Orsini-Jones, David Jones and my former head of department Janet Lewis. x

11 Acknowledgements xi In Sicily I have discussed the content of this book with my colleagues and friends Giuseppe Giura, Salvo Cincimino and the anti-mafia prosecutor Gery Ferrara, who were kind enough to comment on sections of the manuscript. I remain amazed and humbled by their generosity. All my graduate and post-graduate students also deserve my sincere thanks for the exciting exchanges in several seminars and during the numerous study trips to Sicily. Throughout its preparation, I have received clear-sighted guidance and continuous support from my very patient editor Julia Willan, at Palgrave Macmillan, and her assistant Dominic Walker. I am also grateful to the University of Strathclyde for the granting of a scholarship that allowed me to undertake this study and pursue my research in Sicily. I am also indebted to Coventry University for granting me a sabbatical to complete the book. I would like to offer my sincere thanks to Susy Kimbell and Claire Edgley who helped me with the translation of earlier drafts of the manuscript. A special mention to my friend Vaggelis, unbeatable barista at Ottobar in Athens, who made the corrections of the last drafts more bearable with his delicious coffees. I would also like to thank the numerous people whom I might have forgotten to mention here but were supportive and helpful with this project. Any mistakes and misinterpretations in Challenging the Mafia Mystique are, obviously, my own responsibility. I am very grateful to my parents and my sister s family; they always supported and encouraged me at difficult times and have been a source of inspiration. I dedicate this book to my wife, Fany, and our children Giovanni and Teresa Sofia. A small thank you for the daily support and encouragement, for the love and affection received, and for enduring my difficult company while this work was in progress.