Photographer tells of his work taking pictures during bloody reign of mafia boss Toto Riina

Record ID: 938310

  • Title: Photographer tells of his work taking pictures during bloody reign of mafia boss Toto Riina
  • Date: 17th November 2017
  • Summary: ROME, ITALY (NOVEMBER 17, 2017) (REUTERS) REUTERS PHOTOGRAPHER TONY GENTILE LOOKING AT PRINTS OF HIS PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN DURING THE 1990s MAFIA WAR IN SICILY BLACK AND WHITE PRINTS OF GENTILE'S PHOTOS BLACK AND WHITE PRINTS ON THE TABLE GENTILE LOOKING AT PRINTS
  • Embargoed: 1st December 2017 12:48
  • Keywords: Sicilian Mafia powerful boss "the Beast" violent criminal career
  • Location: ROME, ITALY
  • City: ROME, ITALY
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Crime
  • Reuters ID: LVA00177V4ABR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Reuters photographer Tony Gentile said on Friday (November 17) mafia boss Toto Riina represented for many Sicilians the epitome of evil.
    Salvatore "Toto" Riina, the Sicilian Mafia's most powerful boss of the 20th century who was convicted for ordering dozens of murders, died of natural causes early on Friday after almost a quarter of a century in jail.
    Gentile, who was born in Palermo, worked as a photographer in Sicily throughout the 1980-90's and captured some of the most important pictures that illustrated the fight between the mafia and the Italian state. He said the start of Riina's reign marked a change in the attitude to the mafia in Sicily because of the spiraling violence.
    Due to Riina's savagery, hundreds of mobsters broke their code of silence and testified against him, allowing magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino to uncover the long-hidden secrets of Cosa Nostra and prosecute its leaders for the crimes of its soldiers.
    Riina's January 1993 arrest, after more than 20 years as a fugitive, came just months after Falcone and Borsellino were blown up on his orders, and coincided with the tumultuous downfall of Italy's corrupt post-war political system.
    Gentile described how Riina appeared to be emphasising his continuing power as he arrived in the courtroom during his trial, saluting his family as he entered the room.
    In one of his most famous photographs, Falcone and Borsellino are seen smiling and chatting, sitting very closely together. Gentile said he hopes the smile in the photograph, which was taken shortly before Falcone and Borsellino were killed, could continue to be a sign of hope for Sicilians who are still trying to free themselves from the power of the mafia.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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