Vittorio Mangano

Vittorio Mangano
Secondigliano Penitentiary AOO Ref: Casa Circondariale, Secondigliano Unicode : 1I80AN
Born	Vittorio Mangano August 18, 1940 Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Died	July 23, 2000 (died in prison aged 59) Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Other names	"lo stalliere di Arcore" (the stable keeper of Arcore)
Occupation	, murderer, fraudster, drug dealer
Criminal charge	Racketeering extortion fraud money laundering corruption murder robbery drug trafficking
Criminal penalty	life imprisonment
Spouse(s)	Anna Maria Imbrociano
Children	3 children
Allegiance	Mangano Clan
Conviction(s)	Racketeering, extortion, fraud, money laundering, corruption, murder, robbery, drug trafficking

Vittorio Mangano (Palermo, August 18, 1940 – Palermo, 23 July 2000) was a member of the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra. He was well known as the stable keeper at the villa of Silvio Berlusconi in Arcore in the 1970s and as such Mangano is known as "lo stalliere di Arcore" (the stable keeper of Arcore). Berlusconi later would become Prime Minister of Italy.

During the Maxi Trial in the mid-1980s the Mafia turncoats (pentiti), Tommaso Buscetta and Salvatore Contorno, said Mangano was a "uomo d'onore" (man of honour) of Cosa Nostra and a member of the Porta Nuova family that was headed by Pippo Calò. Buscetta himself was a member of this family.

From 1973 to 1975 Mangano was hired as stable keeper at the Villa San Martino owned by Silvio Berlusconi in Arcore, a small town near Milan. Mangano's real job is alleged to have been to deter kidnappers from targeting the tycoon's children. It was Berlusconi's right-hand man Marcello Dell'Utri who advised to take Mangano for the job. Mangano took care of the Villa's security and sometimes took Berlusconi's children to school.

According to pentito Antonino Giuffrè, Mangano served as a go between for the Mafia boss Stefano Bontade: "When Vittorio Mangano got the job in the Arcore villa, boss Stefano Bontade and some of his close aides used to meet Berlusconi using visits to Mangano as an excuse." Giuffrè told the Palermo court that despite the prime minister's assertions to the contrary, Mangano's Mafia identity was known when he was hired at the villa.

Berlusconi kept Mangano as an employee despite his criminal record dating back to the 1960s. He never dismissed him even when, during his time as employee in the Villa, he was imprisoned because of convictions, and suspected of arranging the kidnapping of a friend of Berlusconi. Mangano left spontaneously in late 1975, concerned about Berlusconi's reputation, when many newspapers started making a scandal about his stay at Arcore. Berlusconi later stated that he was absolutely unaware of who Mangano really was when he hired him.