Giuseppe Calò

Giuseppe Calò
Mugshot of Giuseppe Calò
Born	(1931-09-30) September 30, 1931 (age 85) Palermo, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Other names	"Mafia's Cashier" "Don Pippo Calò"
Occupation	Boss of Porta Nuova
Criminal charge	Racketeering, extortion, money laundering, multiple murder, drug trafficking
Criminal penalty	Life imprisonment
Criminal status	Imprisoned since 1985
Allegiance	Porta Nuova Family
Conviction(s)	Racketeering, extortion, money laundering, multiple murder, drug trafficking

Giuseppe 'Pippo' Calò (born September 30, 1931) is a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was referred to as the "cassiere di Cosa Nostra" (Mafia's Cashier) because he was heavily involved in the financial side of organized crime, primarily money laundering. He has been charged with ordering the murder of Roberto Calvi – nicknamed "God's banker" – of the Banco Ambrosiano in 1982, but has been cleared in 2007 because of "insufficient evidence" in a surprise verdict.

Born and raised in Palermo, the capital of Sicily, he was inducted into the Porta Nuova Mafia Family at the age of twenty-three after carrying out a murder to avenge his father. By 1969 he was the boss of Porta Nuova, and amongst his men was the future informant (pentito) Tommaso Buscetta. Calò was on the Sicilian Mafia Commission, a group of the most powerful Mafia bosses in Sicily who regularly met, supposedly to iron out differences and solve disputes.

In the beginning of the 1970s Calò moved to Rome. Under the guise of an antiques dealer and under the false identity of Mario Agliarolo he invested in real estate and laundered large proceeds of crime for many Mafia families. He was able to establish close links with common criminals of the Banda della Magliana, neo-fascist groups and members of the Italian intelligence agencies.

During the early 1980s he supported Salvatore Riina and the Corleonesi during the Second Mafia War that decimated the rival Mafia families.

Calò arranged the bombing of the 904 express train between Florence and Bologna on December 23, 1984 that killed 16 people and injured around 200 others. It was meant to divert attention from the revelations given by various Mafia informants, including Buscetta. Calò and his men had joined up with neo-fascist terrorists and the Camorra boss Giuseppe Misso to carry out the atrocity.