Giovanni Bontade (1946 in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

– September 28, 1988 in Palermo) was a member of the Sicilian

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

. He was commonly called ''Bontade'' but the actual surname is ''Bontate''. He was the brother of Mafia boss

Stefano Bontade Stefano Bontade (23 April 1939 – 23 April 1981), born Stefano Bontate, was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was the boss of the Santa Maria di Gesù Family in Palermo. He was also known as the ''Principe di Villagrazia'' (Prince of ...

, who ruled the Santa Maria di Gesù Mafia Family in

and second son of

Francesco Paolo Bontade Francesco Paolo Bontade (3 May 1914 – 25 February 1974), also known as ''Don Paolino Bontà'', was an influential and powerful member of the Sicily, Sicilian Sicilian Mafia, Mafia. Some sources spell his surname Bontate. He hailed from Villagra ...

Biography

He went to university and studied to become a lawyer, but remained an important figure within the organization and, according to several

pentiti ''Pentito'' (; lit. "repentant"; plural: ''pentiti'') is used colloquially to designate collaborators of justice in Italian criminal procedure terminology who were formerly part of criminal organizations and decided to collaborate with a public ...

, became jealous when his brother Stefano inherited control of the family after their father's death. When Stefano was murdered in 1981 by the

Corleonesi The Corleonesi Mafia clan was a faction within the Corleone family of the Sicilian Mafia, formed in the 1970s. Notable leaders included Luciano Leggio, Salvatore Riina, Bernardo Provenzano, and Leoluca Bagarella. Corleonesi affiliates wer ...

in the

Second Mafia War The Second Mafia War was a period of conflict involving the Sicilian Mafia, mostly taking place from 1981 to 1993. It involved thousands of homicides, the deadliest of which incident left 40 dead in 1987. Sometimes referred to as The Great Mafia ...

, some suspected Giovanni had "sold his brother" to

Salvatore Riina Salvatore Riina (; 16 November 1930 – 17 November 2017), called Totò (Sicilian_language, sicilian diminutive of Salvatore), was an Italian mobster and chief of the Sicilian Mafia, known for a ruthless murder campaign that reached a peak in th ...

in exchange for control over the Santa Maria di Gesù family. However, the Corleonesi initially put him aside and instead temporarily gave control of the family to another mafioso, Pietro Lo Iacono. During the

Maxi Trial The Maxi Trial () was a criminal trial against the Sicilian Mafia that took place in Palermo, Sicily. The trial lasted from 10 February 1986 (the first day of the Corte d'Assise) to 30 January 1992 (the final day of the Supreme Court of Cassati ...

of 1986-1987, Bontade denied all accusations said against him by

Tommaso Buscetta Tommaso Buscetta (; 13 July 1928 – 2 April 2000) was a high-ranking Italian mobster and a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He became one of the first of its members to turn informant and explain the inner workings of the organization. Buscetta p ...

, but also attempted to defend

Cosa Nostra The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of local protect ...

from the accusation of the murder of Claudio Domino, an 11-year-old boy. This decision however had the unwanted side effect of confirming the existence of the organization: as procurator

Pietro Grasso Pietro Grasso (; born 1 January 1945), also known as Piero Grasso, is an Italian anti-mafia magistrate and politician who served as President of the Senate from 2013 to 2018. Grasso became the Acting President of Italy on 14 January 2015, upon th ...

explained, ''"With Bontade's appeal, for the first time a mafioso pronounced the word 'we': we, meaning we Cosa Nostra. They had just admitted their own existence. It was the first time a non-pentito had done so."'' Following this incident, the Corleonesi decided to eliminate Bontade, who was killed together with his wife Francesca Citarda by his own lieutenant Pietro Aglieri in September 1988. Following his death, Aglieri became the new leader of Bontade's Mafia faction. Several years later, during a confrontation between pentito

Gaspare Mutolo Gaspare Mutolo (Palermo, February 5, 1940) is a Sicilian mafioso, also known as "Asparino".Salvatore Riina Salvatore Riina (; 16 November 1930 – 17 November 2017), called Totò (Sicilian_language, sicilian diminutive of Salvatore), was an Italian mobster and chief of the Sicilian Mafia, known for a ruthless murder campaign that reached a peak in th ...

, Mutolo stated that the slaying of Bontade's wife, who was not involved in the Mafia and thus an innocent, was part of what motivated him to turn against the Corleonesi and become a state witness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bontade, Giovanni 1939 births 1981 deaths Gangsters from Palermo Sicilian mafiosi Mafiosi murdered by the Corleonesi People murdered in Sicily