Nitto Santapaola
| Benedetto Santapaola | |
|---|---|
Nitto Santapaola
|
|
| Born |
June 4, 1938 Catania, Sicily, Italy |
| Other names |
"Il cacciatore" (The Hunter) |
| Occupation | Mafioso |
| Criminal charge |
* Mafia Association * Multiple murder * Smuggling * Theft |
| Criminal penalty |
Life imprisonment ( multiple life sentences related to different homicides ) |
| Criminal status | imprisoned since 1993 |
| Children | Vincenzo Santapaola |
| Allegiance |
Corleonesi clan Ties with ndrangheta ('Ndrina of Melito di Porto Salvo) |
| Conviction(s) | Mafia Association, Multiple murder, Smuggling, Theft |
Benedetto Santapaola (born June 4, 1938), better known as Nitto is a prominent mafioso from Catania, the main city and industrial centre on Sicily's east coast. His nickname is il cacciatore (the hunter), because of his passion for shooting game. He is currently in jail serving several life sentences.
Nitto Santapaola was born in the degraded neighbourhood of San Cristoforo, in Catania, into a poor family together with his brothers Salvatore, Antonino, Natale and numerous cousins, such as the Ferrera clan, the Ercolano clan and the Romeo clan, all members or associates of Cosa Nostra, and the future nucleus of the Santapaola-Ercolano Mafia family.
At the beginning of the 1960s, Santapaola was introduced by his cousin Francesco Ferrera into the largest Mafia family of Catania, at the time under the command of Giuseppe Calderone. Santapaola’s first denunciation was in 1962 for theft and criminal conspiracy. In 1970 he was sent into internal exile and in 1975 he was denounced for cigarette smuggling.
While Giuseppe Calderone was elevated to the Regional Commission of Cosa Nostra in 1975, his underboss Santapaola took over the illicit business in Catania for the Mafia family and became the capo famiglia of the clan. Santapaola managed the interests in heroin trafficking and acted as chief enforcer for the leading businessmen. Meanwhile, he carefully built a private faction within the family that was loyal to him – and strengthened relations with Totò Riina and the Corleonesi.
While Riina was a fugitive he frequently spent time in and around Catania and often went hunting with Santapaola around the local mountains. Riina decided to support Santapaola’s faction in order to replace Calderone, an ally of Stefano Bontade from Palermo and Giuseppe Di Cristina from Caltanissetta. Giuseppe Calderone, was killed on September 30, 1978 by his former close friend and protégé. Santapaola took over the command of the Catania Mafia Family. These skirmishes were just a prelude to the Second Mafia War that really started after the murder of Stefano Bontade in 1981.
...
Wikipedia