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Salvatore Cuffaro

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Bernardo Provenzano
File:Cuffaro 2.jpg
Totó Cuffaro at Rebibbia Prison
Born (1958-02-21) February 21, 1958 (age 66)
Raffadali, Agrigento, Sicily, Italy
Occupation(s)former politician, doctor (expelled from medical order)
Criminal statusimprisoned since 2011
Criminal chargeCosa Nostra
Penalty7 years

Salvatore "Totò" Cuffaro (born February 21, 1958 in Raffadali, Agrigento) is a convicted mafia criminal, formerly an Italian politician, former President of Sicily, currently serving a 7 years jail sentence for aiding the Mafia.[1] His nickname is "Vasa Vasa" [Kiss Kiss] for his tendency to kiss all and sundry - he claims that he has kissed a quarter of all the people on the island.[2]

Biography

Christian Democrat

A graduate of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Palermo, with a specialization in radiology, Cuffaro joined the Christian Democrat (DC) party during his student days. Then, after having served as City Councillor in his native city, Raffadali, and Palermo, Cuffaro was first elected Member of the Sicilian Regional Assembly in 1991; in 1996 he served as Regional Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries.[3]

His political career began under the wing of former minister Calogero Mannino, who in the past was suspected of having ties with the Mafia. Following the demise of the DC, he became a member of ex-DC splinter parties before joining the party Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC). He first became known nationally in September 1991, when he defended his political patron Mannino, accused of being a witness at a Mafia wedding, live on television in a joint broadcasting of the Maurizio Costanzo show and Michele Santoro’s Samarcanda, accusing the presenters that their journalism was Mafia journalism. In the presence of Antimafia judge Giovanni Falcone he accused the Sicilian prosecutors of manipulating state witnesses (pentiti).[4] In october 2009, Cuffaro denounced for "defamation and threats" the 5000 and above YouTube users who commented the video of the TV show.[5]

In 2001, after having joined the UDC, Cuffaro was endorsed by the House of Freedoms as presidential candidate for Sicily. He won the election, with 59.1% of the vote, defeating Leoluca Orlando. Cuffaro was elected as part of Silvio Berlusconi's sensational clean sweep of the island, when his coalition won all 61 of its parliamentary seats.[6]

On June 26, 2003, it was revealed that Cuffaro was being investigated for Mafia-related crimes, after Domenico Miceli, a fellow UDC politician, was arrested for allegedly acting as a link between a Mafia chief and top Sicilian politicians, including Cuffaro.[6][7] A few months later he was committed for trial. Despite all this, Cuffaro stood for the 2004 European Parliament election. Later that year, Cuffaro was appointed national vice-secretary of UDC, the party headed by Pier Ferdinando Casini. Until 2008 he was also President of COPPEM.

Re-elected

In the Italian general election, 2006, he was elected senator for his party, UDC. In the 2006 regional election,[8] he was successively re-elected President of Sicily with 53.1% of the vote, defeating Rita Borsellino, the Union candidate and sister of the late judge Paolo Borsellino, killed by the mafia in 1992.[2][9]

Cuffaro and the Italian Minister of Justice, Clemente Mastella were involved in a scandal when it was found that they had been best men of Francesco Campanella, a former member of the Mafia and town councilor of Villabate, who helped the boss Bernardo Provenzano during his absconding. In 2001 Campanella used his official position to supply Cosa Nostra's top "godfather" with an identity card so he could travel abroad for medical treatment. In July 2000 Mastella and Cuffaro had been witnesses at Campanella's wedding.[10]

He was recently the object of media attention thanks to the film La Mafia è Bianca (The Mafia is White) by Stefano Maria Bianchi and Alberto Nerazzini, which exposes rife corruption in the Sicilian Health service and shows a clip of police film footage of Cuffaro meeting with a known mafioso. Cuffaro took the publishers to court for defamation but lost the first round of the case.[11][12]

Mafia indictment and conviction

File:Cuffaro dimettiti.jpg
Poster to urge Salvatore Cuffaro to resign after his conviction to five years for aiding and abetting Mafiosi using an image of Cuffaro serving cannoli after the sentence which did not convict him for collusion with the mafia, but only for aiding and abetting individual Mafiosi. The Italian text reads "Convicted to five years. Resign."

On October 15, 2007, assistant public prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone requested eight years' imprisonment for Cuffaro charged with aiding and abetting Cosa Nostra and passing confidential information about the trial to the so-called moles in the Palermo Antimafia directorate.[13][14]

Cuffaro's indictment emerged from an inquiry set up to trace leaks during an inquiry into a local doctor, Giuseppe Guttadauro, accused of being the Cosa Nostra boss in its Palermo stronghold Brancaccio. Guttadauro learned that his home was being "bugged" from another doctor. The colleague alleged that he, in turn, had been tipped off by Cuffaro. Guttadauro was recorded describing how the Mafia had funded Cuffaro's 2001 election campaign. According to a transcript, he told that Cuffaro was handed packages of cash "in the least elegant, but most tangible way possible".[15]

On January 18, 2008, Cuffaro was found guilty of having helped the Mafia and was given a five-year sentence, during which time he will be suspended from all public offices. Cuffaro was not found guilty of outright collusion with Cosa Nostra but the court concluded he acted in favour of several people sentenced for Mafia crimes and committed breaches of confidentiality. By Italian law, both the sentence and suspension from public office can only begin after the automatic appeals process is concluded. The prosecution had asked that Cuffaro be given an eight-year sentence but judges concluded that while he had helped the Mafia, there had been neither conspiracy nor willful intent. He has denied all wrongdoing and refused to step down, despite that he has also been banned from public office. "I knew I didn't do anything to willfully help the Mafia and tomorrow morning I intend to be back at my desk," Cuffaro said after the court adjourned.[16][17][18]

The day after, Cuffaro handed out cannoli, a Sicilian pastry, as if celebrating the sentence, which he considered positive as he was not convicted for ties to the Mafia. The ricotta sweets have become "instrumentalized," he told the daily Corriere della Sera. Adding that he "never celebrated" and fully understands the weight of the charges brought against him. He didn't bring the celebratory cannoli with him, but one of his many well-wishers did.[19]

Resignation

Cuffaro resigned on January 26, 2008. His resignation followed reports that the national government was planning a move to oust him. The announcement represents a reversal for Cuffaro, who earlier said he would hang on to his post and appeal his five-year prison sentence of January 18. Many, including some politicians from allied parties, were angry that he celebrated not being convicted of a more serious accusation - helping the Mafia as an organization. The head of Italy's politically influential industrial lobby, Confindustria, lamented that Cuffaro remained in office while Sicilian businessmen were defying the Mafia by increasingly refusing to pay systematic "protection" money. A widely published photo of him offering his aides a tray of cannoli pastries to celebrate fuelled the outrage.[20][21]

Re-election and appeals trial

While Cuffaro was undergoing his appeals trial, the Union of the Centre nominated him in the 2008 general election and he was re-elected senator.[22] On January 23, 2010 the Palermo Appeals Court confirmed his two previous convictions and added the aggravation of favoring the Mafia, sentencing him to seven years in prison.[23] He subsequently announced his intention to appeal the sentence before the Supreme Court and to resign from all party offices.[24] On January 22, 2011, the Supreme Court definitively confirmed the sentence.[25]

References

  1. ^ Template:It icon Prima notte in cella per Cuffaro, La Repubblica, January 23, 2011
  2. ^ a b Sicily elects governor linked with Mafia, The Independent, May 30, 2006
  3. ^ Template:It icon Voti, cannoli e amicizie pericolose, La Repubblica, January 23, 2011
  4. ^ Template:It icon Costanzo Show: Totò Cuffaro aggredisce Giovanni Falcone, YouTube
  5. ^ Template:It "Di Pietro difende gli utenti denunciati da Cuffaro". Webnews.it.
  6. ^ a b Berlusconi's ally in Sicily investigated for Mafia links, The Independent, June 28, 2003
  7. ^ Tough mafia sentence sought for ex-Palermo official, Italy Magazine, October 31, 2006
  8. ^ Sicily Says Enough, Time, May 21, 2006
  9. ^ The outside chance, The Guardian, May 13, 2006
  10. ^ Italian justice minister linked to mafia inquiry, The Guardian, May 18, 2006
  11. ^ Template:It icon No di Cuffaro, ma documentario va in onda, Corriere della Sera, July 19, 2006
  12. ^ The White Mafia, Best of Sicily Magazine, February 2006
  13. ^ Template:It icon Mafia, chiesti otto anni per Cuffaro, Corriere della Sera, October 15, 2007
  14. ^ Eight Years Requested For Cuffaro At Mafia Trial, Corriere della Sera, October 16, 2007
  15. ^ Sicilian governor on mafia charge, The Guardian, September 3, 2004
  16. ^ Sicilian governor gets five years: Salvatore Cuffaro found guilty of helping the Mafia, ANSA, January 18, 2008
  17. ^ Template:It icon Mafia, Cuffaro condannato a 5 anni, La Repubblica, January 18, 2008
  18. ^ Sicily chief guilty in Mafia case, BBC News, January 18, 2008
  19. ^ Template:It icon Cuffaro: «I cannoli? Strumentalizzati», Corriere della Sera, January 20, 2008
  20. ^ Template:It icon Cuffaro si è dimesso da Governatore, La Repubblica, January 26, 2008
  21. ^ Sicily's governor resigns after conviction in Mafia case, International Herald Tribune, January 26, 2008
  22. ^ "Salvatore Cuffaro – XVI Legislatura" (in Italian). Italian Chamber of Deputies. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  23. ^ Template:It icon Talpe Dda, Cuffaro condannato a 7 anni in appello; "L'ex governatore ha favorito Cosa Nostra", La Repubblica, January 23, 2010
  24. ^ "Cuffaro dopo condanna, lascio ogni incarico nell'Udc" (in Italian). ANSA. January 23, 2010. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
  25. ^ Sicily senator Salvatore Cuffaro jailed in mafia case, BBC News, January 23, 2011


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