Antonino Calderone was a Sicilian Mafioso who turned state witness in 1987 after his arrest in 1986.
17 Facts About Antonino Calderone
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Antonino Calderone had been prosecuted by Mussolini's Iron Prefect, Cesare Mori.
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Antonino Calderone, narrating his initiation ritual in Catania in 1962, recalls that he was surprised to see at the gathering people he knew and he never suspected were in the Mafia, and not to see people he thought were in the organization.
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Antonino Calderone owned a gas station and entered profitable business ventures thanks to his Mafia connections, and rose through the ranks of the Antonino Calderone family until he became underboss of the Catania Mafia.
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On 8 September 1978, his brother and boss of the Catania Mafia, Giuseppe Antonino Calderone, was killed by his former close friend and protege Nitto Santapaola.
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Antonino Calderone became more and more marginalized and decided to leave Catania in 1983 fearing for his life.
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Antonino Calderone said he wanted to talk to judge Giovanni Falcone.
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Antonino Calderone was moved to an insane asylum for his own protection.
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Antonino Calderone talked about the links of Cosa Nostra with law enforcement, freemasonry, judges and politicians in Catania and the Italian government.
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Antonino Calderone was different from previous pentiti such as Tommaso Buscetta and Salvatore Contorno.
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Antonino Calderone provided first-hand accounts of the leaders of the Corleonesi, Luciano Leggio, Toto Riina and Bernardo Provenzano.
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One of the more bizarre anecdotes Antonino Calderone related in his memoirs was that of Riina giving a tearful eulogy at the funeral of his murdered brother, even though Riina himself had ordered the killing.
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Yet, Riina's admiration for Giuseppe Antonino Calderone might have been sincere: he regretted having to have him killed, just as a president of a company regrets having to lay off a valued employee during difficult economic times.
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Antonino Calderone described how he and his brother conferred with Lima and the Salvo cousins to get a zealous police officer in Catania transferred.
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Antonino Calderone testified in numerous trials, among others in the Maxi Trial appeals and in the trial against Giulio Andreotti.
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On 10 January 2013, at the age of 78, Antonino Calderone died at a secret location "overseas," according to police chief Antonio Manganelli.
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Antonino Calderone had been living for years under an assumed identity outside Italy.