Rosario Naimo
Encyclopedia
Rosario Naimo is a member of the Sicilian Mafia, also known as Saro or Saruzzo. He was seen as an important go-between between the Sicilian and American Mafia, closely related with the Gambino crime family
. He is a men of honour from the Tommaso Natale-Cardillo Mafia family that later became part of San Lorenzo family.
, Naimo was the head of the Sicilian Mafia in the United States at the time. He succeeded Francesco Gambino, convicted for his role in running the "Iron Tower" conspiracy – a drug trafficking and money laundering operation.
He was a man so powerful that the Sicilian Mafia boss of bosses Toto Riina said of him that he was "more powerful than the President of the United States".
by the Corleonesi
after the Second Mafia War
in the years 1981-1983. Riina had the Sicilian Mafia Commission
to adopt a ruling that allowed the surviving Inzerillos to take refuge in the U.S., with the agreement that none of them, or their offspring, could ever return to Sicily. Many went to the New York area and joined forces with their relatives in the Gambino crime family
. They were dubbed "gli scappati" (the escapees). However, after the arrest of Totò Riina (1993) and other hard-line Corleonesi like Leoluca Bagarella
(1995), the Inzerillos started to come back to Sicily. At the time, Naimo had been appointed to guarantee the agreement.
stipulated that this should be the first of a series of even larger shipments, with Cosa Nostra aiming for the monopoly of cocaine distribution in Western Europe.
At the time the cooperation between the two criminal organisations was seen as serious threat. In May 1992, just ten days before the Mafia murdered him, judge Giovanni Falcone
referred to this case during a conference on drug trafficking, warning of the consequences of “joint ventures in illicit activity at international level.” In his words, the Colombian-Sicilian deal provided “the proof of the beginning of direct contacts [which are] extremely dangerous for the possible risk of operational fusion between criminal organizations of considerable economic power and great operational capacity.”
, Sicily
on October 27, 2010. He was 65 years old at the time of capture. After his arrest he started to collaborate with the Prosecutors Office in Palermo, Sicily. One of the many things he revealed was where and how the journalist Mauro De Mauro
was killed in September 1970. The killing of De Mauro is one of the unsolved mysteries in Italy.
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
. He is a men of honour from the Tommaso Natale-Cardillo Mafia family that later became part of San Lorenzo family.
Mafia member
He became a member of the Mafia in Sicily in 1965 and emigrated to Detroit in 1968. According to a 1989 report of the New Jersey State Commission of InvestigationNew Jersey State Commission of Investigation
The New Jersey State Commission of Investigation is an independent governmental fact-finding agency in the U.S. State of New Jersey whose mission is to identify and investigate organized crime, corruption and waste, fraud and abuse in government spending by state, municipal and school...
, Naimo was the head of the Sicilian Mafia in the United States at the time. He succeeded Francesco Gambino, convicted for his role in running the "Iron Tower" conspiracy – a drug trafficking and money laundering operation.
He was a man so powerful that the Sicilian Mafia boss of bosses Toto Riina said of him that he was "more powerful than the President of the United States".
Guaranteeing Mafia peace
Naimo is related to the expulsion of the Inzerillo clanSalvatore 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...
by 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...
after 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...
in the years 1981-1983. Riina had the Sicilian Mafia Commission
Sicilian Mafia Commission
The 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...
to adopt a ruling that allowed the surviving Inzerillos to take refuge in the U.S., with the agreement that none of them, or their offspring, could ever return to Sicily. Many went to the New York area and joined forces with their relatives in the Gambino crime family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
. They were dubbed "gli scappati" (the escapees). However, after the arrest of Totò Riina (1993) and other hard-line Corleonesi like Leoluca Bagarella
Leoluca Bagarella
Leoluca Bagarella is an Italian criminal and member of the Sicilian Mafia. He is from the town of Corleone and was a member of the Corleonesi.-Biography:...
(1995), the Inzerillos started to come back to Sicily. At the time, Naimo had been appointed to guarantee the agreement.
Cocaine trafficking
At the end of the 1980s he had been involved with cocaine trafficking. His name was mentioned in relation to the seizure 600 kilograms of cocaine on the vessel "Big John" of the coast Castellamare del Golfo in Eastern Sicily in January 1988. A pact between Sicilian mafiosi and Colombian traffickers of the Medellin cartelMedellín Cartel
The Medellín Cartel was an organized network of "drug suppliers and smugglers" originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia. The drug cartel operated in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Central America, the United States, as well as Canada and Europe throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded and...
stipulated that this should be the first of a series of even larger shipments, with Cosa Nostra aiming for the monopoly of cocaine distribution in Western Europe.
At the time the cooperation between the two criminal organisations was seen as serious threat. In May 1992, just ten days before the Mafia murdered him, judge Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone was an Sicilian/Italian prosecuting magistrate born in Palermo, Sicily. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Mafia in Sicily...
referred to this case during a conference on drug trafficking, warning of the consequences of “joint ventures in illicit activity at international level.” In his words, the Colombian-Sicilian deal provided “the proof of the beginning of direct contacts [which are] extremely dangerous for the possible risk of operational fusion between criminal organizations of considerable economic power and great operational capacity.”
Fugitive and arrest
Naimo has been a fugitive since and was arrested in PalermoPalermo
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...
, Sicily
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,...
on October 27, 2010. He was 65 years old at the time of capture. After his arrest he started to collaborate with the Prosecutors Office in Palermo, Sicily. One of the many things he revealed was where and how the journalist Mauro De Mauro
Mauro De Mauro
Mauro De Mauro was an Italian journalist. He disappeared in September 1970 and his body has not yet been found. His disappearance and probable death remains one of the unsolved mysteries in Italian history.Several explanations for his disappearance are current...
was killed in September 1970. The killing of De Mauro is one of the unsolved mysteries in Italy.