Cesare Manzella ( Italian pronunciation: [ˈtʃeːzare manˈdzɛlla, ˈtʃɛː-] ; December 18, 1897 – April 26, 1963) was a traditional Mafia capo, who sat on the first Sicilian Mafia Commission . He was the head of the Mafia family in Cinisi , 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 Badalamenti .
23-410: Manzella is a surname. Notable people with the surname Manzella include: Cesare Manzella (1897–1963), Italian mobster Darren Manzella (1977–2013), American military personnel and LGBT activist Theresa Manzella , American politician Tommy Manzella (born 1983), American baseball player [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with
46-563: 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 Cattolica (Catholic Action) in Cinisi. Manzella was heavily involved in cigarette smuggling and heroin trafficking. He
69-413: A chat. It almost felt like he was doing them a favour in that nothing ever happened in Cinisi, it was a quiet little town. If anything, we were subversives who made nuisances of ourselves. This was what the carabinieri thought. When I had a chance to speak to one of them – something which didn't happen often because I didn't really trust them – I realised that it was a widely held belief that Tano Badalamenti
92-510: A councillor. Initially press, police and investigative magistrates considered that Peppino Impastato had been a left-wing terrorist who had tried to bomb a railway line, but caused his own death. After the discovery of a letter written by Impastato several months before his death, authorities started talking about suicide. Thanks to the efforts of his brother Giovanni Impastato, his mother Felicia Bartolotta Impastato (who publicly broke relations with their Mafia relatives), his fellow activists, and
115-560: A self-financed radio station named Radio Aut in 1976. Peppino Impastato used humor and satire as his weapon against the Mafia. In his popular daily radio programme Onda pazza (Crazy Wave) he mocked politicians and mafiosi alike. On a daily basis he exposed the crimes and dealings of mafiosi in Mafiopoli (Cinisi) and the activities of Tano Seduto (a pun on Toro Seduto, Sitting Bull), a thinly disguised pseudonym of Gaetano Badalamenti ,
138-404: 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 Carini , Torretta , Terrasini , Partinico , Borgetto and Camporeale . He was a member of the first Sicilian Mafia Commission that was established in 1958. Manzella loved to show off as
161-536: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Cesare Manzella After a stay in the United States, where he had spent many years organising gambling houses in Chicago , 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 Carabinieri . “He
184-570: The Centro siciliano di documentazione (founded in Palermo in 1977; Giuseppe Impastato's name was added to its masthead in 1980), the Mafia's responsibility for the crime would be identified after a struggle of many years. Following a statement made by a former member of the Cinisi Mafia, the pentito Salvatore Palazzolo who had turned state witness, and named Badalamenti as the instigator of
207-412: The surname Manzella . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manzella&oldid=996500943 " Category : Surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
230-618: The Court of Assises declared Vito Palazzolo to be guilty of murder, initially handing down a thirty-year sentence, however, the Court later overturned his conviction. Gaetano Badalamenti was given a life sentence on April 11, 2002. Peppino's mother, Felicia Bartolotta Impastato, reacted to the conviction in a very dignified manner: "I never have had any feelings of revenge. All I have done is call for justice for my son's death. I have to confess that, after so many years of waiting, I had lost faith; I never thought we would reach this point. Now I feel
253-451: The Mafia to allow his tireless activities to continue. Apparently, his father tried to protect him but unfortunately he was killed in a car accident in 1977, which might have been a premeditated murder. Apparently, Badalamenti waited until after Impastato's father had died to give the order to kill Impastato. In 1978 Peppino Impastato stood as a candidate in the Cinisi council elections for Proletarian Democracy ( Democrazia proletaria ). He
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#1732787646930276-496: The capomafia of Cinisi. Nevertheless, it was Peppino Impastato and his friends that were considered to be the real nuisance and 'undesirable elements' by the authorities in town, not the 'respected' men such as Badalamenti. Peppino's brother Giovanni declared before the Italian Antimafia Commission : "It seemed that Badalamenti was well liked by the carabinieri as he was calm, reliable, and always liked
299-459: The house – and initiated a series of political and cultural antimafia activities. According to his younger brother Giovanni Impastato, Peppino's antimafia activity might have been triggered by the brutal murder of his uncle by marriage, Cesare Manzella , who was blown to pieces by a car bomb in April 1963 when Peppino was fifteen years old. Pieces of his uncle – who was the Mafia boss of Cinisi at
322-603: The murder, the investigation was formally reopened in June 1996, and in November the following year an arrest warrant was issued for Badalamenti. In 1998 a committee was formed by the Italian Parliament's permanent Antimafia Commission to investigate the 'Impastato case'. On December 6, 2000, it issued a report which outlined the responsibilities of State officials in leading the investigations astray. On March 5, 2001,
345-404: The new revolutionary movements that sprung up in 1968 . He led struggles by Cinisi peasants whose land had been expropriated to build the third runway at Palermo's Punta Raisi Airport , as well as disputes involving construction workers and the unemployed. In 1975, he set up Music and Culture with other young people in Cinisi. The group organised debates, film, theatre and music shows and started
368-413: The time – were found stuck to lemon trees hundreds of meters from the crater where the car had been. Peppino was traumatized: "Is this really Mafia? If this is Mafia I will fight it for the rest of my life." In 1965, Peppino Impastato founded the newsletter L'idea socialista and joined the left-wing PSIUP party (Italian Socialist Party of Proletarian Unity). He took a leading role in the activities of
391-433: Was a gentleman and it was us who were the trouble-makers." "I often used to see them walking arm in arm with Tano Badalamenti and his henchmen. You can't have faith in the institutions when you see the police arm in arm with mafiosi." Impastato clearly understood the danger represented by Badalamenti, and Badalamenti clearly understood the danger of Peppino Impastato. Impastato's struggles were too public and determined for
414-724: Was a protagonist in the First Mafia War . The conflict erupted over an underweight shipment of heroin. The shipment was financed by Manzella, the Greco cousins from Ciaculli and the La Barbera brothers from Palermo Centre. Suspicion fell on Calcedonio Di Pisa , 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
437-475: Was blown to pieces by a car bomb. Pieces of Manzella's body were found stuck to lemon trees hundreds of meters from the crater where the car had been. Manzella was an uncle by marriage of Giuseppe Impastato , 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
460-505: Was born in Cinisi , in the then province of Palermo , into a Mafia family. His father Luigi Impastato [ it ] had been sent into internal exile during the fascist era , and was a close friend of Mafia boss Gaetano Badalamenti . His father's brother-in-law, Cesare Manzella , was an important Mafia boss who was killed in car bomb attack in 1963. As an adolescent, Peppino broke off relations with his father – who kicked him out of
483-583: 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 "Ciaschiteddu" Greco , 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
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#1732787646930506-496: Was killed during the election campaign on the night of May 8–9, by a charge of TNT placed under his body, which had been stretched over the local railway line – a sinister twist of fate to the car-bomb that had killed his uncle and initiated Peppino's revolt against the Mafia. The same day Christian-Democrat former Prime Minister Aldo Moro 's corpse was discovered on Via Caetani in Rome . Two days later voters in Cinisi elected him as
529-419: Was traumatized by the event, saying: "Is this really Mafia? If this is Mafia I will fight it for the rest of my life…." Giuseppe Impastato Giuseppe " Peppino " Impastato ( Italian pronunciation: [dʒuˈzɛppe pepˈpiːno impaˈstaːto] ; January 5, 1948 – May 9, 1978), was an Italian political activist who opposed the Mafia , which ordered his murder in 1978. Giuseppe "Peppino" Impastato
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