Cesare Manzella was a traditional
MafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
capo, who sat on the first
Sicilian Mafia CommissionThe Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
. He was the head of the Mafia family in
CinisiCinisi is a town and a comune in the province of Palermo in Sicily. As of 2007 it had an estimated population of 12,100.-Geography:The town is part of the Palermo metropolitan area, borders with the municipalities of Carini and Terrasini and count the civil parish of Punta Raisi, seat of Palermo...
, a small seaside town near the Punta Raisi Airport. As the airport was in their territory it was an invaluable asset for the import and export of contraband, including narcotics. His deputy was
Gaetano BadalamentiGaetano Badalamenti was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Don Tano Badalamenti was the capofamiglia of his hometown Cinisi, Sicily, and headed the Sicilian Mafia Commission in the 1970s...
.
Expelled from the US
After a stay in the United States, where he had spent many years organising gambling houses in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Manzella settled back in Cinisi after he was expelled by US authorities in 1947. In Cinisi he owned an extensive citrus plantation. Manzella was described as a “violent and bullying individual”, by the local
CarabinieriThe Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
. “He is cunning and has a well-developed organisational ability, which enables him to enjoy an undisputed ascendancy over local criminals and mafiosi.” Not only in Cinisi, but also in the surrounding communities
CariniCarini is a town and comune in the Province of Palermo, Sicily, 13 miles by rail WNW of Palermo. It has a population of 25,752....
,
TorrettaTorretta is a comune in the province of Palermo located on the Mediterranean island of Sicily.This town is situated on a mountainous area overlooking Palermo....
,
TerrasiniTerrasini is a town and comune in the Province of Palermo on the island of Sicily in Italy.-Data:Terrasini is located west of Palermo at the motorway between Palermo and Trapani, between the mountains and the Gulf of Castellammare near the Palermo International Airport.Terrasini's population works...
,
PartinicoPartinico is a town and comune in the province of Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy...
,
BorgettoBorgetto is a small mountain town near the province of Palermo in Sicily. As of 2007 Borgetto had an estimated population of 6,875....
and
CamporealeCamporeale is a comune in the Province of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about 35 km southwest of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,652 and an area of 38.6 km²....
. He was a member of the first
Sicilian Mafia CommissionThe Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
that was established in 1958.
Manzella loved to show off as a benefactor. As he strolled down the narrow streets of Cinisi, wearing his wide-brimmed American-style hat, he would hand out pocketfuls of sweets to orphans and street rascals. He devoted a proportion of his illicit profits to building an orphanage. His charity was rewarded by his election as president of the
Azione CattolicaThe Azione Cattolica Italiana, or Azione Cattolica for short, is a widespread lay Roman Catholic association in Italy.-History:...
(Catholic Action) in Cinisi.
First Mafia War
Manzella was heavily involved in cigarette smuggling and heroin trafficking. He was a protagonist in the First Mafia War. The conflicted erupted over an underweight shipment of heroin. The shipment was financed by Manzella, the
Greco cousinsSalvatore "Ciaschiteddu" Greco was a powerful mafioso and boss of the Mafia Family in Ciaculli, an outlying suburb of Palermo famous for its citrus fruit groves, where he was born...
from Ciaculli and the
La Barbera brothersAngelo La Barbera was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Together with his brother Salvatore La Barbera he ruled the Mafia family of Palermo Centro...
from Palermo Centre. Suspicion fell on
Calcedonio Di PisaCalcedonio Di Pisa , also known as Doruccio, was a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was the boss of the Mafia family in the Noce neighbourhood in Palermo and sat on the first Sicilian Mafia Commission, the coordinating body of Cosa Nostra in Sicily.-Mafia career:Di Pisa was described by Norman...
, who had collected the heroin for Manzella from the Corsican supplier, Pascal Molinelli, and had organised the transport to Manzella’s partners in New York.
The case was brought before the Mafia Commission, but disagreement on how to handle it, led to a bloody conflict, known as the First Mafia War between the Grecos, headed by
Salvatore GrecoSalvatore "Ciaschiteddu" Greco was a powerful mafioso and boss of the Mafia Family in Ciaculli, an outlying suburb of Palermo famous for its citrus fruit groves, where he was born...
, and the La Barberas – in particular when Di Pisa was killed on December 26, 1962. Manzella sided with the Grecos and became the target of the rival faction. Manzella was killed on April 26, 1963, when he was blown to pieces by a car bomb. Pieces of Manzella were found stuck to lemon trees hundreds of meters from the crater were the car had been.
Impastato
Manzella was an uncle by marriage of
Giuseppe ImpastatoGiuseppe Impastato, also known as Peppino , was a political activist who opposed the Mafia that ordered his murder in 1978.-Childhood:...
, the Anti-mafia activist who was murdered by the Mafia in 1978. Peppino Impastato's Anti-mafia activity might have been triggered by the brutal murder of Manzella, when Peppino was 15 years old. Peppino was traumatized by the event. "Is this really Mafia? If this is Mafia I will fight it for the rest of my life…."