The use and abuse of Mafia informers (April 1996)
There may be more than a little truth in journalist Giuliano Ferrara’s observation that there is a certain similarity between musicians who work the piano bars and long-standing Mafia informers: "They both sing according to request." Using former Mafia members as informants is something the Italian authorities began copying from the American authorities back in the ‘80s and not without impressive results. The number of arrests and convictions of Mafia members in the last 10 years is without precedence and no one can deny the important role played by the informers in providing information which led to those arrests. However, the ethics of the methods used by the Italians in handling their long-term relationship of cooperation with these so-called penitents – befitting euphemism in the Catholic tradition – has recently come under question regarding the case of Bruno Contrada.
In both the United States and in Italy, Mafia "penitents" are offered a deal which provides for their lifelong protection and financial sustenance in exchange for their valuable insider’s information. However, in the United States they are obliged to spill all of their beans at once furnishing the police with all of the details of their knowledge and experience of years within the organization. After that, they are provided with protection and their relationship with the police is terminated except for that protection.
In Italy, in order for Mafia informants to be able to continue to benefit from the safeguarding furnished by the police authorities and the economic subsistence granted by the Italian government, they are expected to be on call to provide the authorities with new information as needed. However, it might be asked, what new information can they possibly have after years of disunion from the organization? Moreover, the perpetuation of such relationships between the informers and government authorities obviously risks the establishment of a rapport based on blackmail. After all, the very lives of the informers and their families are directly dependent on their willingness to cooperate. It is easy to imagine how a position of power of this kind over the livelihood of another person can lead to abuse in order to destroy personal or political enemies.
It goes without saying that many people in Italy are beginning to question such seemingly extortionist procedures, particularly in light of the recent conviction of Bruno Contrada, former chief of the Palermo police department in Sicily, a man who dedicated years of his life to investigative procedures in battling the Mafia.
The story of Contrada is one that goes well beyond the personal tragedy of a man that devoted and risked his own life for the benefit of the collective welfare of his fellow citizens, and who now faces a ten year jail sentence having been convicted of association with the Mafia. The procedures used during his trial are a threat to any and all citizens of Italy who happen to be destined with the unlucky fortune of being the victim of a conspiracy of accusers.
Contrada’s main accusers form part of this protected club of penitents. One of them, Gaspare Mutolo, is a criminal who was severely persecuted by Contrada. Mutolo also accused the judges who sentenced him of being associated with the Mafia. This is obviously a witness with an ax to grind. Pino Marchese, another informant, accused Contrada of helping Toto Riina, head of the Corleonesi clan, to move from one place of refuge to another back in 1981. However, he changed his version of the facts twice in one month. Did someone else ask him to? A third penitent, Marino Mannoia, added no new information to the testimonies, but confirmed those given by his "colleagues," providing the court with the necessary "multiple convergence" of depositions. Strange though, that when Mannoia had testified the previous year, he had stated that he had absolutely no knowledge concerning Contrada. Did his memory suddenly come back? Or did someone provide him with his new revelations that just happened to coincide with the testimonies of the other informers?
The Contrada case’s other conspiracy of witness-accusers came from the ranks of the Italian Senate. They were Senators Erminio Boso, Carmine Mancuso, and Ferdinando Imposimato. The details of their contorted accusations are too long to recount here. Let it suffice to say that in the case of the first two, their declarations were demonstrated to be blatantly false.
Senator Imposimato, on the other hand, had been called as a witness to testify in favor of Contrada. He was expected to recount details of how the former police chief had been instrumental in the arrest of John Gambino in 1979 which would have proven Contrada’s dedication to the anti-Mafia cause. However, the Senator had an unexplainable lapse of memory when he took the witness stand. There are those who suddenly remember, and those suddenly forget, almost as if by command.
Another calamity is now being inflicted upon those who did testify in Bruno Contrada’s favor. They are police chiefs, directors of the secret service, Sisde, and officials of the Carabinieri, the state military police. These people are now under investigation for association with the Mafia as a direct result of Contrada’s conviction. It may be rightfully asked why those who testified falsely against Contrada are not equally under investigation.
More weight was given to the testimony of ten affirmed criminals and other witnesses proven guilty of perjury, than to the depositions of four police chiefs and dozens of other police and military police officers who have risked their lives in years of combat against the Mafia. This is indeed cause for every one to suffer restless nights. Moreover, if a witness offers what he believes to be a true testimony only to find himself later under investigation because the person that he testified in favor of is convicted, what citizen will be willing to come forth and participate in the judicial process?
April 1996
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