Corleone: A History of La Cosa Nostra

Salvatore 'Totò' Riina was the son of a poor farmer from Corleone. By the age of 52, he was the head of the Sicilian mafia, and his reign was a reign of blood and terror. He'd picked off the family members of his rival Tommaso Buscetta one by one, but his thirst for blood would be his downfall: Buscetta was ready to provide the police with the evidence to bring the whole house of cards down.

The murder of Carabiniere Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa in 1982 was the final straw. The prosecution of Palermo founded a so-called anti-mafia pool and hunted for Salvatore "Totò" Riina. The judges team was also to investigate the because of their connections to the mafia hitherto untouchable businessmen and politicians. Then Riina was the investigating judge Rocco Chinnici assassinated by a bombing with a car bomb. From now on, two young judges, Palermo, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, made the fight against the mafia their life's work. In particular, thanks to the testimony of a former riinas less driven by feelings of remorse than revenge, the judges finally succeeded in issuing hundreds of arrest warrants against the Cosa Nostra. In 1986, the Maxi trial against 475 defendants was opened in Palermo, although the still volatile Riina maintained a climate of fear. The trial was punishable by very severe penalties. Riina was sentenced to life imprisonment. A historic verdict, which was completely contrary to expectations confirmed in the appeal and the cassation. In anger, Riina in 1992 two deadly explosives attacks on the judges Falcone and Borsellino in order. A double tragedy and for the Sicilians a 9/11 comparable shock wave. Riina was arrested in 1993 and died in 2017 at the age of 87 in the high-security prison prison in Parma. Until the end, he showed no remorse.