Gaspare Pulizzi
Encyclopedia
Gaspare Pulizzi is a member of the Sicilian
Mafia
from Carini
near Palermo
. Pulizzi was one of the right-hand men of Mafia boss Salvatore Lo Piccolo
, the capo mandamento of the San Lorenzo area in Palermo
.
, his son Sandro Lo Piccolo, Andrea Adamo and Pippo Di Bello. Asked why he had joined Cosa Nostra, Pulizzi said: "I don’t know. It just happened."
He was arrested on November 5, 2007, together with Lo Piccolo and his son Sandro, as well as Andrea Adamo, in a villa in Giardinello
, between Cinisi
and Terrasini
.
Pulizzi confessed to have been involved in the disappearance of the Mafioso Giovanni Bonanno, son of Armando Bonanno, in January 2006. Bonanno had been missing and was a victim of 'lupara bianca' a practice when the victim's body is deliberately hidden. Pulizzi showed Italian police the site of a cemetery unearthed in the city of Villagrazia di Carini, 10 kilometres from the southern Italian city of Palermo.
in Palermo. Rotolo opposed Lo Piccolo’s permission for the return of the Inzerillo family
. The Inzerillo clan had been sent in exile in the United States after they had lost the Second Mafia War
against the Corleonesi
in the 1980s. Rotolo had been involved in the killing of members of the Inzerillo clan and feared revenge. He had passed a death sentence on Lo Piccolo and his son.
Pulizzi revealed that the Lo Piccolo’s were behind the murders of Bartolomeo Spatola and Nicola Ingarao. Both murdered bosses were allied with Rotolo and the killings represented a strategic move which enabled Lo Piccolo to gain leadership of Palermo’s families and districts. Spatola, the 72-year-old boss of the Sferracavallo district of Palermo, disappeared in September 2006. Lo Piccolo's men kidnapped and killed Spatola because he supported Rotolo.
– a young upcoming boss allied with Rotolo and Cinà.
On June 13, 2007, two hitmen killed 46-year-old mafia boss Nicola Ingarao – another ally of Rotolo. Pullizi and another pentito Andrea Bonaccorso confessed to have killed Ingarao. Bonaccorso drove the motorcycle, while Pulizzi pulled the trigger. Pulizzi said he was forced by Sandro Lo Piccolo to kill Ingarao, who claimed he did not know the area where the killing took place. "Either you do it or you die," Lo Piccolo said, according to Pulizzi. Bonaccorso earned his initiation into Cosa Nostra with the murder.
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
Mafia
Mafia
The 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...
from Carini
Carini
Carini 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....
near Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
. Pulizzi was one of the right-hand men of Mafia boss Salvatore Lo Piccolo
Salvatore Lo Piccolo
Salvatore Lo Piccolo , also known as the Baron , is a Sicilian mafioso and one of the most powerful bosses of Palermo, Sicily. Lo Piccolo rose through the ranks of the Palermo mafia throughout the 1980s and he became the capo-mandamento of the San Lorenzo district in the early 1990s, replacing...
, the capo mandamento of the San Lorenzo area in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
.
Mafia career
Pulizzi was initiated into the Tommaso Natale family of Cosa Nostra in June 2006 in the presence of Salvatore Lo PiccoloSalvatore Lo Piccolo
Salvatore Lo Piccolo , also known as the Baron , is a Sicilian mafioso and one of the most powerful bosses of Palermo, Sicily. Lo Piccolo rose through the ranks of the Palermo mafia throughout the 1980s and he became the capo-mandamento of the San Lorenzo district in the early 1990s, replacing...
, his son Sandro Lo Piccolo, Andrea Adamo and Pippo Di Bello. Asked why he had joined Cosa Nostra, Pulizzi said: "I don’t know. It just happened."
He was arrested on November 5, 2007, together with Lo Piccolo and his son Sandro, as well as Andrea Adamo, in a villa in Giardinello
Giardinello
Giardinello is a comune in the Province of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about 20 km west of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,001 and an area of 12.5 km²....
, between Cinisi
Cinisi
Cinisi 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...
and Terrasini
Terrasini
Terrasini 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...
.
Pentito
In January 2008, he decided to collaborate with the Italian authorities. Pulizzi is the third boss of the Lo Piccolo clan who decided to cooperate, after Francesco Franzese and Antonino Nuccio. Pulizzi's relatives were taken away from Carini. His relatives, who clearly didn't support Pulizzi's decision, didn't want police officers to take his wife and kids away – the police was obliged to use force.Pulizzi confessed to have been involved in the disappearance of the Mafioso Giovanni Bonanno, son of Armando Bonanno, in January 2006. Bonanno had been missing and was a victim of 'lupara bianca' a practice when the victim's body is deliberately hidden. Pulizzi showed Italian police the site of a cemetery unearthed in the city of Villagrazia di Carini, 10 kilometres from the southern Italian city of Palermo.
Power struggle
Pulizzi was one of Lo Piccolo’s soldiers in the power struggle with Antonio RotoloAntonio Rotolo
Antonio "Nino" Rotolo is an Italian Mafia boss from the Pagliarelli area in Palermo that traditionally was under the control of the Motisi Mafia family. Rotolo was the underboss of Matteo Motisi, but according to some pentiti he was the de facto leader representing the mandamento on the Sicilian...
in Palermo. Rotolo opposed Lo Piccolo’s permission for the return of the Inzerillo family
Salvatore Inzerillo
Salvatore Inzerillo was an Italian criminal, a member of the Sicilian Mafia, also known as Totuccio . He rose to be a powerful boss of Palermo's Passo di Rigano family...
. The Inzerillo clan had been sent in exile in the United States after they had lost the Second Mafia War
Second Mafia War
The Second Mafia War was a conflict within the Sicilian Mafia, mostly taking place in the early 1980s. As with any criminal organization, the history of the Sicilian Mafia is replete with conflicts and power struggles, and the violence that results from them, but these are generally localised and...
against the Corleonesi
Corleonesi
The Corleonesi is the name given to a faction within the Sicilian Mafia that dominated Cosa Nostra in the 1980s and the 1990s. It was called the Corleonesi because its most important leaders came from the town of Corleone, first Luciano Leggio and later Totò Riina, Bernardo Provenzano and Leoluca...
in the 1980s. Rotolo had been involved in the killing of members of the Inzerillo clan and feared revenge. He had passed a death sentence on Lo Piccolo and his son.
Pulizzi revealed that the Lo Piccolo’s were behind the murders of Bartolomeo Spatola and Nicola Ingarao. Both murdered bosses were allied with Rotolo and the killings represented a strategic move which enabled Lo Piccolo to gain leadership of Palermo’s families and districts. Spatola, the 72-year-old boss of the Sferracavallo district of Palermo, disappeared in September 2006. Lo Piccolo's men kidnapped and killed Spatola because he supported Rotolo.
Involvement in murders
Pulizzi admitted to have formed a hit squad together with Nino Pipitone and Gaspare Di Maggio, to kill Spatola – an associate of Antonino Cinà, the family doctor of Totò Riina and a leading member of Cosa Nostra allied with Rotolo. Due to a mistaken identity the team killed an innocent passer-by in August 2006. Pulizzi confessed that Sandro Lo Piccolo had strangled Spatolo in the second attempt and that he himself had disposed of the body. Cinà had been the padrino at the initiation of Sandro Lo Piccolo, but had been put on the death list of the Lo Piccolo clan, Pulizzi revealed. Just as Gianni NicchiGianni Nicchi
Giovanni "Gianni" Nicchi is a member of the Sicilian Mafia. Despite his young age – his nickname is U picciutteddu – he is considered to be one of the leading mafiosi of Cosa Nostra in Palermo...
– a young upcoming boss allied with Rotolo and Cinà.
On June 13, 2007, two hitmen killed 46-year-old mafia boss Nicola Ingarao – another ally of Rotolo. Pullizi and another pentito Andrea Bonaccorso confessed to have killed Ingarao. Bonaccorso drove the motorcycle, while Pulizzi pulled the trigger. Pulizzi said he was forced by Sandro Lo Piccolo to kill Ingarao, who claimed he did not know the area where the killing took place. "Either you do it or you die," Lo Piccolo said, according to Pulizzi. Bonaccorso earned his initiation into Cosa Nostra with the murder.
External links
- Le rivelazioni di Gaspare Pulizzi, by Alessia Cannizzaro, February 2, 2008
- Nuovo pentito, TG2TG2TG2 is the brand for the news programmes of Rai Due, the Italian state-owned television channel. The programmes are shown several times throughout the day — domestically on Rai Due, across Europe on Rai News and in other parts of the world on Raitalia.-Editor and political leanings:The...
, January 23, 2008