Giuseppe Marchese (born 12 December 1963) is a former 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 ...

, who turned state witness (

pentito ''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 ...

). Giuseppe ''Pino'' Marchese was born 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 ...

in a family with long-standing ties to the Mafia. His father Vincenzo and his uncle Filippo Marchese were both members of Cosa Nostra.

Early Mafia career

He learned the hard way what it meant to be born into a Mafia family. When he was 16 he wanted to marry a girl. However, her parents were separated, which, according to the rules of Cosa Nostra, was not allowed. Giuseppe’s brother made the suggestion that he "clean up the family mess" and marry an orphan instead of the daughter of separated parents. In other words, Giuseppe was supposed to kill his girlfriend’s father. If he would not do it, his brother would. Giuseppe broke off the relationship.Siebert, ''Secrets Of Life And Death'', p. 31 In 1980, just 17 years old, Giuseppe Marchese was initiated into the Mafia by

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 ...

and

Leoluca Bagarella Leoluca Bagarella (; born 3 February 1942) is an Italian criminal and member of the Sicilian Mafia. He is from the town of Corleone. Following his brother-in-law Salvatore Riina's arrest in early 1993, Bagarella became the head of the strategist ...

as ‘reserved’ man of honour affiliated with 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 ...

.Sentenza nei confronti di Dell’Utri Marcello e Cinà Gaetano
, 11 December 2004, pp. 293-95 His membership of Cosa Nostra was to be kept confidential in order to work exclusively for Riina and his uncle.Paoli, ''Mafia Brotherhoods'', p. 70 He became one of the many killers at the disposal of the Corleonesi 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 ...

Arrest

He was only 18 when he participated in the so-called "Christmas Massacre" when, on the afternoon of 25 December 1981, in

Bagheria Bagheria (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in Sicily, located approximately 10km to the east of the city centre. Etymology According to some sources, the name ''Bagheria'' (by way of old Sicilian ''Baarìa'') or ...

, three Mafiosi – including Giovanni Di Peri, the boss of

Villabate Villabate ( Sicilian: ''Villabbati'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 19,441 and an area of .All d ...

– and an innocent bystander were murdered.

Giuseppe Greco Giuseppe Greco (; 4 January 1952 – September 1985) was an Italian hitman and high-ranking member of the Sicilian Mafia. A number of sources refer to him exclusively as Pino Greco, although ''Giuseppe'' was his Christian name; ''Pino'' is a fr ...

and Marchese's uncle Filippo Marchese also took part in the bloodshed.Stille, ''

Excellent Cadavers ''Excellent Cadavers'' is a 1995 non-fiction book by American author Alexander Stille about the Sicilian Mafia, concentrating on magistrate Giovanni Falcone's fight against the Mafia and his 1992 assassination. Book title The name of the book ...

'', pp. 63-64 Giuseppe Marchese was captured on 15 January 1982, and imprisoned for his role in the Christmas Massacre. His conviction was secured by the fact that his

fingerprint A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfa ...

was found on the steering wheel of one of the getaway cars (the

forensic scientist Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...

, Dr. Paolo Giaccone, who found and identified the fingerprint was subsequently shot to death by Rosario Rotolo, one of Filippo Marchese's killers; at 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 ...

, Rotolo was convicted of this murder). Marchese was given a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are c ...

as part of the

in 1987.

Betrayed by Riina

On 11 May 1989 Giuseppe Marchese and his brother Antonino battered to death

Vincenzo Puccio Vincenzo Puccio (27 November 1945 – 11 May 1989) was a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was from Palermo and joined the Ciaculli Mafia family sometime in the late 1970s, although, like many other members of that particular family, he operate ...

, boss of the mandamento of

Ciaculli Ciaculli is an outlying village (or ''frazione'') of Palermo, Sicily, Italy. It is located in the south-eastern area of Palermo Metropolitan City. It counts less than 9,500 residents. Ciaculli is close to the suburb of Croceverde. It is one of ...

and a fellow

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...

and

hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

for the Corleonesi. Puccio had been plotting to overthrow the Corleonesi bosses,

and

Bernardo Provenzano Bernardo Provenzano (; 31 January 1933 – 13 July 2016) was an Italian mobster and chief of the Sicilian Mafia clan known as the Corleonesi, a Mafia faction that originated in the town of Corleone, and ''de facto'' the boss of bosses ("''il ...

.Stille, ''

'', pp. 307-08 Giuseppe and Antonino Marchese had been ordered to kill Puccio by Riina but were unaware that Riina, on the same day, had Puccio's brother murdered. It was a deliberate ploy by Riina to ensure the Marchese brothers were unable to claim they had carried out the killing of Vincenzo Puccio during a spontaneous act of self-defence. The two Marcheses were subsequently given additional life sentences.

Pentito

In September 1992 he became a

and started to collaborate with the authorities. He claimed he was disillusioned by Riina's tactics of murder and treachery, complaining he had been used and then discarded by Riina. Marchese admitted to having participated in more than 20 murders, including those of

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 ...

and

Salvatore Inzerillo Salvatore Inzerillo (; 20 August 1944 – 11 May 1981) was an Italian member of the Sicilian Mafia, also known as Totuccio (a diminutive for Salvatore). He rose to be a powerful boss of Palermo's Passo di Rigano family. A prolific heroin traffic ...

. He was the second mafioso (after the Marino Mannoia) from the winning faction of the

in the

to become a state witness. Although he wasn't involved, he also talked about

Pino Greco Giuseppe Greco (; 4 January 1952 – September 1985) was an Italian hitman and high-ranking member of the Sicilian Mafia. A number of sources refer to him exclusively as Pino Greco, although ''Giuseppe'' was his Christian name; ''Pino'' is a fr ...

's killing. Giuseppe Marchese was a brother-in-law of

from

Corleone Corleone (; or ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' of roughly 11,158 inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in Sicily. Many Sicilian Mafia, Mafia bosses both in Sicily and the United States have come from the town of Corleone, inclu ...

, who married his sister Vincenzina in 1991. According to

Toni Calvaruso, Vincenzina committed suicide on 12 May 1995, due to her depressive state after a series of miscarriages, her brother becoming a

and her husband's involvement with the death of

Giuseppe Di Matteo Santino Di Matteo (born 7 December 1954), also known as ''Mezzanasca'', is an Italian former member of the Sicilian Mafia from the town of Altofonte in the province of Palermo, Sicily, Italy. Di Matteo took part in the killing of anti-Mafia j ...

.Longrigg, ''Mafia Women'', p. 122Il femminile in Cosa Nostra
Francesco Flocca & Serena Giunta, Psychomedia, 5 September 2003

References

* Longrigg, Clare (1998). ''Mafia Women'', London: Vintage * Paoli, Letizia (2003). ''Mafia Brotherhoods: Organized Crime, Italian Style'', Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press * Siebert, Renate (1996).
Secrets Of Life And Death. Women and the Mafia
', London: Verso * Stille, Alexander (1995). ''Excellent Cadavers. The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic'', London: Vintage {{DEFAULTSORT:Marchese, Giuseppe 1963 births Pentiti Sicilian mafiosi 20th-century Italian criminals Italian people convicted of manslaughter Italian people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Italy Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Italy Sicilian mafiosi sentenced to life imprisonment Living people