Salvatore Riina

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Lore & Background

Riina was born on 16 November 1930 and raised in a poverty-stricken countryside house in Corleone. In September 1943, his father Giovanni found an unexploded American bomb and attempted to open it to sell the powder and metal, but set it off, killing himself and Riina's seven-year-old brother Francesco, while injuring his other brother Gaetano. At age 19, Riina was sentenced to a 12-year prison sentence for having killed Domenico Di Matteo with a handgun in a fight; he was released in 1956. He later became one of three gunmen who shot dead Michele Navarra on 6 August 1958 on the orders of Luciano Leggio, who subsequently became the new boss of the Corleone family. Together with Riina, Calogero Bagarella and Bernardo Provenzano were the three gunmen in Navarra's slaying. Riina went into hiding in 1969 after he was indicted on a further murder charge and was to remain a fugitive for the next 23 years. Riina succeeded Leggio as head of the Corleonesi in the mid-1970s after Leggio was captured and imprisoned on 16 May 1974. He achieved dominance through a campaign of violence, which caused police to target his rivals. In violation of established Mafia codes, Riina advocated the killing of women and children and killed innocent members of the public solely to distract law enforcement agencies. Hitman Giovanni Brusca estimated he murdered between 100 and 200 people on behalf of Riina. Although this scorched-earth policy neutralized any internal threat to Riina's position, he increasingly showed a lack of his earlier guile by bringing his organisation into open confrontation with the state. As part of the Maxi Trial of 1986, Riina was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia for Mafia association and multiple murders. After 23 years of living as a fugitive, he was captured in 1993, provoking a series of indiscriminate bombings of art galleries and churches by his organisation. His lack of repentance subjected him to the stringent Article 41-bis prison regime until his death on 17 November 2017.

Reader's Guide

Riina's significance lies in his transformation of the Sicilian Mafia from a relatively discreet criminal network into a violent, state-challenging organization. His murder campaign against prosecutors Falcone and Borsellino in the early 1990s provoked public outcry that led to legal change and a major crackdown by the authorities. By ordering the killing of women, children, and innocent civilians, he broke traditional Mafia codes and escalated the conflict with law enforcement. His capture in 1993 after 23 years as a fugitive triggered retaliatory bombings of art galleries and churches by his organisation. The Maxi Trial, which convicted him in absentia, relied on testimony from pentito Tommaso Buscetta, who revealed that the Mafia was a single organisation led by a Commission, or Cupola. Buscetta helped judges Falcone and Paolo Borsellino achieve significant success that led to 475 Mafia members indicted, and 338 convicted in the Maxi Trial. Riina's legacy includes the erosion of the Mafia's old system of bribery and influence, replaced by open warfare that ultimately weakened the organisation through state repression. His lack of repentance ensured he remained under harsh prison conditions until his death.

Did You Know?

• In September 1943, Riina's father Giovanni killed himself and Riina's seven-year-old brother Francesco while trying to open an unexploded American bomb to sell the powder and metal.
• At age 19, Riina was sentenced to a 12-year prison sentence for killing Domenico Di Matteo with a handgun in a fight; he was released in 1956.
• Riina was one of three gunmen who shot dead Michele Navarra with submachine guns on 6 August 1958 on the orders of Luciano Leggio.
• Hitman Giovanni Brusca estimated he murdered between 100 and 200 people on behalf of Riina.
• Riina's capture in 1993 provoked a series of indiscriminate bombings of art galleries and churches by his organisation.