Antonio Calderone

Antonino Calderone
Catania Mafia boss and pentito Antonino Calderone
Born	(1935-10-24)October 24, 1935 Catania, Italy
Died	January 10, 2013(2013-01-10) (aged 77) Secret overseas hideout
Nationality	Italian
Known for	Testimony as state witness pentito
Allegiance	Cosa Nostra

Antonino Calderone (October 24, 1935 – January 10, 2013) was a Sicilian Mafioso who turned state witness (pentito) in 1987 after his arrest in 1986.

Antonino was born in Catania, the brother of Giuseppe Calderone, the boss of the local Mafia. Antonino's memoirs, Men of Dishonor: Inside the Sicilian Mafia, were published in 1992 with Antimafia sociologist Pino Arlacchi and are considered a handbook for understanding Cosa Nostra and the life of a mafioso. It was translated into many languages.

Originally, Catania was not a traditional Mafia area such as the western part of Sicily. According to Antonino Calderone, the first Mafia family in Catania was started by Antonio Saitta (). He had been prosecuted by Mussolini’s Iron Prefect, Cesare Mori. One of his daughters was the mother of Giuseppe and Antonino Calderone. Another uncle had helped the Mafia get back on its feet after World War II, organizing the black market in contraband cigarettes.

Antonino Calderone, narrating his initiation ritual in Catania in 1962, recalls that he was surprised to see at the gathering people he knew and he never suspected were in the Mafia, and not to see people he thought were in the organization. Despite being from a historical Mafia family and the brother of the boss of the Mafia in Catania, Calderone was not aware of what was going on.

Antonino Calderone became the underboss of the Catania Mafia family. On September 30, 1978, his brother and boss of the Catania Mafia, Giuseppe Calderone, was killed by his former close friend and protégé Nitto Santapaola. Santapaola had forged an alliance with the Corleonesi and took over the command of the Catania Mafia Family.