01x03 - Corruption, the Sicilian Curse

[bunniefuu]

- [gloomy music playing]

- [thunder rumbling]

Silvana Saguto, the former president

of the preventive measures department

of the Court of Palermo,

has been removed from the judiciary.

[newscaster] No mitigation

for the former president.

The Superior Council of the Judiciary

has given Silvana Saguto

its highest disciplinary sanction,

expulsion from the judiciary.

[Saguto] The Council has expelled me

from the judiciary,

not just before my trial,

but without even hearing me!

That's never happened before in Italy.

JUSTICE

I never thought that my colleagues

would have believed what Maniaci started.

I never thought

that my career would end like this.

I expected that it would end

at the hands of the Mafia,

that they'd blow me up.

I never thought that I'd end up on trial.

[music turning suspenseful]

How can someone

accused of extortion be credible?

[music building up]

[theme music playing]

A NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY SERIES

[music fading out]

[reporter 1] Assignments, favors,

confidential information,

engagements, and gifts

in the offices of the preventive measures

department of the Court of Palermo.

[reporter 2] Investigators

are examining material from the inquiry

that is shaking up the system

that manages fortunes

seized from organized crime.

With the documents

and telephone recordings,

the judges already have enough material

to try to back up the allegations.

[horns honking]

[music fading]

[Saguto] I'm still completely shocked

and surprised by this trial.

There are 39 charges.

Among them, for example,

is one for criminal association,

allegedly, between me, my husband,

and a high-up judicial administrator.

The other very serious charge

is corruption.

This administrator,

supposedly, gave us €20,000.

I manage billions, and I take €20,000?

That adds up to

a few paychecks for a judge,

which is really it's ridiculous.

Among the many absurd charges,

[calm music playing]

there is one that's completely ridiculous.

I've been accused

of owning firearms without a license.

Now, like any other judge

I have permission to carry firearms

because of my job,

because I am a judge.

I have my card here.

And on the back, it says,

"Valid for carrying firearms

without a license."

I could even carry a bazooka,

because all judges can.

[music building up]

What bothers me the most

was that to get to me,

they also incriminated my family.

My husband was accused

because the administrator

gave him contracts.

[reporter 1] Just a few people managed

the seized assets from the Mafia

for wildly inflated fees.

[reporter 2] The judges in Caltanissetta

are investigating Silvana Saguto,

as well as her husband,

and one of the top judicial administrators

in all of Italy.

At the center of investigation

is the exchange of favors.

SILVANA SAGUTO'S HUSBAND

IS A TECHNICAL CONSULTAN

WHO EVALUATED THE MAFIA ASSETS

SEIZED BY

THE PREVENTIVE MEASURES DEPARTMEN

I've been accused of not carrying out

the work I was paid for,

of being paid more than

erm I should have been.

Of course, I feel completely betrayed.

It's deeply disappointing.

Hi, Dad.

- Hi.

- Come in.

- How are you?

- Good, you?

Not bad.

What made me really angry

was involving my parents.

My dad, who is 91 years old,

was accused of money laundering

for giving me €15,000.

When you're 90,

it's already hard to understand,

but I don't think he even knows

what "money laundering" means.

He gave me some of his money,

like he's done all my life.

[church bells ringing]

There's no logic. And if there's no logic,

it means there's something behind it.

[calm music playing]

Amongst the people Pino Maniaci is helping

is the Cavalotti family.

The Cavallotti family are entrepreneurs

from Belmonte Mezzagno,

which is a town

with a very high Mafia population.

The Cavallotti family couldn't have built

their fortune through legal means.

They had millions of euros

of discrepancies.

They couldn't prove where it came from.

They're a bunch of dishonest people.

[somber music playing]

CAVALLOTTI FAMILY'S VILLAS

[birds chirping]

We were the first entrepreneurs,

in Sicily and in Italy,

to supply methane to towns

that didn't get state funding

for setting up a methane supply system.

WARNING

FLAMMABLE GAS

We had a turnover

of around 20 billion liras per year,

that would be €12 million today,

for the whole group.

We saw that we could supply methane

with little money.

With our funds

and a small loan from the banks.

Mayors called us every day.

We basically already had

more than 100 towns,

in Sicily.

We annoyed very important people.

The real Mafia

are those wearing white collars.

They are the ones who destroyed us.

It was all built

on everything that Saguto did,

if we're naming names.

Before we got a verdict from this judge,

she sold our businesses.

But we'll be back.

We'll fight the courts as long as we live

to get our things back, legally.

THE CAVALLOTTI FAMILY ARE CAMPAIGNING

TO CHANGE THE LAW ON PREVENTIVE MEASURES

[activist] Attention,

citizens of Belmonte.

We ask that you sign

the eight proposals to change the law.

This is a people's initiative

against the system.

Sign for a fairer legal system.

We'll be at Coffice

from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

and from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Citizens of Belmonte

[Pietro] A country

which has preventive measures

cannot be a free country.

This is an issue

that hasn't just affected one family,

it's hit the economy of a whole town.

sh*t. They're stuck together. Wait.

This is why we support the fight

for a reform

of the preventive measures system.

For freedom and against the system.

You worked for Euro Impianti.

If you could kindly sign,

it won't hurt you.

We're collecting signatures

towards setting a clear definition

of when preventive measures

can be enforced.

We want to change the concept

of "participating in a Mafia group."

Can you see all the people signing?

- When people understand, they sign.

- Sure, sure.

[Pietro] What's happened to us

can happen to anyone.

The Cavallotti case

symbolizes all the seizures.

[Pino] We can say

that it's the mother of all seizures.

If this seizure falls,

preventive measures falls.

Saguto's system would crumble.

[Saguto] I don't know why Maniaci

has joined the Cavallotti cause.

I know that Maniaci doesn't do

anything for nothing.

Someone has used him.

[dramatic music playing]

The Mafia has benefited most

from all of this, from my trial.

A journalist came to me,

almost mocking me, saying,

"You know, now you've left,

nothing has been seized. Nothing."

Of course, the Mafia is thankful.

Pino!

- [Pino] Hello, how's it going?

- You're as kind as always.

[somber music playing]

MARCH 2018

[dogs barking]

That's enough, Chira. That's enough!

When I found out

that my dad was being tried for extortion,

my world fell around me.

I said, "No, it can't be true."

- [Letizia] Have we got any small plates?

- [Pino] You have to get the candles too.

- Put on the candles!

- [son] You should put cigarettes.

Next year, we'll do that!

Happy birthday to Pino! ♪

Happy birthday to you! ♪

- [Patrizia] Bravo!

- [son] We can do it, that's enough.

[Giovanni] Yay! [laughing]

I'm still young, damn it!

Take ten years off me.

[Patrizia] I'll take more

than ten years off of you.

My dad pretends to be fine,

but in reality

this whole situation has shaken him up.

Not knowing how the trial will end,

we're all worried.

[cheerful music playing]

APRIL 2018

Today is an important day for

for Pino Maniaci's trial.

The former Mayor of Borgetto

wants to destroy the Telejato station

with these extortion allegations,

and get it closed down.

[dramatic music playing]

No one has ever seen

an extortion of €366 before.

However, it's still a serious charge,

because extortion

is a typical Mafia crime.

The punishment is a serious sentence,

from five to ten years.

It's not a joke.

Ending up in prison

convicted for extortion

would be the end of Pino Maniaci

and Telejato.

People feel

like they've lost faith in the judiciary

MANIACI TRIAL

EXTORTION CHARGE

WITNESS: DE LUCA

[Judge] Hello.

[Parrino] Morning, Your Honor.

Morning, Public Prosecutor.

[Judge] Let's begin the hearing.

Giuseppe Maniaci here present,

defended by his lawyer, Mr. Parrino.

For the civil parties, Gioacchino De Luca.

"With my testimony, I accept to uphold

my moral and legal duty.

I swear to tell the whole truth

and not to hide any facts

that I am aware of."

PUBLIC PROSECUTOR

- Go ahead.

- Mr. De Luca, let's start.

Did you give money to Pino Maniaci?

[De Luca] Yes.

A lot.

I gave him money on several occasions

because he would broadcast

bulletins on the news.

- [Luise] What did he do on the bulletins?

- Attacked me.

He attacked the administration.

So, following these reports

that he presented on the news program,

what did he ask of you?

He asked me for money

to give me the opportunity to respond.

Because at that time, at 2:15 pm,

an anti-Mafia TV channel

that a lot of people watched,

my son, my father, my wife,

it was fertile ground

to spread biased and fake news.

And he attacked us.

JANUARY 2016

This Mayor is not fit

to run the town of Borgetto at all.

The soap opera of Borgetto's Mayor,

De Luca, continues.

NOVEMBER 2015

Absolute silence

from the Borgetto Council

about the demolition of a school.

[De Luca] Because Pino Maniaci

makes a certain type of television,

where he tells lies,

he's starting to broadcast

negative stories about administrators.

If you wanna respond,

you have to pay

to respond to the accusations

and the things

that Pino Maniaci is saying.

It's a small amount of money,

but it's constant,

every week, every month,

every mayor, and every administrator.

It was protection money

for all intents and purposes.

It was extortion

for all intents and purposes.

Argh, that's Maniaci's system.

COURT OF LAW

If you didn't give him money,

would he threaten you?

- [De Luca] Yes.

- How so?

There were lots of things that he said.

There was nothing I could do

because he had a strong position,

he was powerful.

He was someone you couldn't attack,

irreproachable,

he's an anti-Mafia leader like no other.

I am completely outraged and disgusted

about everything

that's happening to me and my family.

I don't mean "family"

as Pino Maniaci would

because as soon as you say "family,"

you mean it's the Mafia family!

Because he didn't know

what to say, what to make up

to try and extort money from me.

Since I met the prosecutor,

I have shaken off Pino Maniaci

and everything he represents,

which isn't the anti-Mafia.

How much money

did you give to Pino Maniaci

to tone down the news bulletins?

The amount [sighs] varied, let's say 200,

300 euros. That's around the amount.

And how much money

did he ask you for this instance?

He asked me for €366.

I remember it well

because he reminded me a million times!

Three sixty-six plus 100,

that was the amount.

[Pino] I asked for what was mine.

His wife was advertising

her toy shop on Telejato,

and he was paying for it.

That's it. End of story.

It was a commercial

that went on air, all viewers

could see it on every newscast.

Can you explain to everyone, Mr. Mayor,

what this commercial is? Let's see it.

[upbeat music playing]

[woman] Toys and Paper Borgetto

has all the new releases for you.

With a wide range of gadgets,

purses, and perfumes,

bicycles, baby walkers, tractors, and cars

to make your children happy.

Find us in Borgetto,

at via Piersanti Mattarella 38,

in front of Villa Comunale.

This was broadcast for free for you.

The payment for the commercial

to be broadcast for the Mayor of Borgetto.

For anyone who has a commercial with us,

knows that our budget is €300

plus VAT per month,

€366.

Mr. Maniaci invited me

to do a commercial on his TV station.

I'm a public figure.

He's the head of Telejato,

so you'd need a contract and an invoice.

There are no invoices and no contracts,

and I asked him millions of times.

They're not there.

[Luise] So you didn't give him money

for the commercial on this occasion

Absolutely not!

[Luise] I see.

Your Honor, I have no further questions.

Defense, go ahead.

Good morning, Mr. De Luca.

I'm Mr. Parrino,

Mr. Maniaci's defense counsel.

Good morning.

[Parrino] So

[somber music playing]

Listen, you said that you had

a commercial with Pino Maniaci.

Is that right?

What he would do

is make me pay two

or three months in advance

because he needed money.

When he was supposed to stop showing

the damn commercial, he didn't stop.

So, did you say to Pino Maniaci,

"Enough. I don't want more dealings

with you for the commercials"?

Of course. I said to him, "Look, I paid

for the commercial for these months.

No need to show it anymore,"

and he carried on anyway,

showing the commercial.

And why didn't you report him before?

I couldn't counterattack

an anti-Mafia figure

with connections everywhere.

Challenging him, reporting him

would have had

a terrible reaction in the media.

How could I defend myself?

No further questions, Your Honor.

Thank you.

[Judge] Very well.

[calm music playing]

[Pino] This trial is a sham.

Pino Maniaci's crime

was targeting

the preventive measures department

of the Court of Palermo.

They wanted to screw with me,

so they had to find something on me.

They used De Luca

because of the money, which

which they could use,

or better twist, in their favor.

EXCEPT TELEJATO

Look, this TV station has its own path.

It always has.

Fight the Mafia, no ifs, no buts.

Of course, they all claim to be victims

of of my of my attacks.

[Pino talking on the screen]

We have reason to believe

that the Borgetto Council has powerful

MARCH 2014

figures

in its administration.

Powerful figures in its administration.

Hi.

[Pino] De Luca

is an unreliable individual.

He has to respond to very serious crimes

because within his administration,

we found out

that there were

some very shady characters who were

well known in Borgetto

and who had connections

to the local Mafia.

I think that the whole operation

in Borgetto is ironically,

because of our reports.

Welcome to today's Telejato News.

AUGUST 2014

There's been a lot of controversy

around the Mayor's visit to America,

and certain meetings.

[horns honking]

[dramatic music playing]

IN 2014 MAYOR DE LUCA LED

A PARTY OF BORGETTO COUNSELORS

AND SOME PRIVATE CITIZENS

ON A TRIP TO NEW YORK

THEY TOOK

BORGETTO'S HOLY MADONNA WITH THEM

TO SHOW HER

TO THE IMMIGRANT POPULATION OF THE CITY

It was the community's dream

for the Madonna to come here to New York.

Since the start,

we've been welcomed with open arms.

It's been a wonderful success.

It'll go in the history books.

[music slowing down]

[Pino] This whole thing is a joke.

In America, the Madonna

was received by a Mafia big shot.

So, this is when they arrived.

There was a Mafia presence

welcoming the Borgetto delegation.

This is One-handed Frank,

unmistakable because he's lost a hand.

He's a high-ranking mafioso

originally from Borgetto,

who moved to America to flee

the arrest warrants out for him.

[suspenseful music playing]

FRANCESCO RAPPA WAS BORN IN SICILY IN 1935

AND IS WANTED

IN ITALY FOR MAFIA ASSOCIATION

This individual

is always in the foreground.

He's always close to the Council members.

And as you can see, the Mayor

is close too, just two steps away.

Here, he's in front of him.

Can you see where he is?

He's in front of the Mayor now.

He's always close to them.

[sinister music playing]

[music fading out]

[sinister music playing]

[doorbell ringing]

- Hello.

- Hi, Gioacchino. How are you?

Great, great.

- [De Luca] How is your family?

- [man] Everything's fine.

The kids are at school.

It's the same old, but it's fine.

Want some coffee?

Yes, yes, I'll have some, I'll have some.

I'll have some coffee.

FORMER PRESS OFFICER - BORGETTO

[Panettino] I was the spokesperson

for De Luca's administration.

I have a real friendship with Gioacchino.

We created a project together

to create positive things for the town.

GIUSEPPE PANETTINO

IS A PROSECUTION WITNESS

IN PINO MANIACI'S TRIAL

I feel really disappointed

about all the negative things

we experienced.

With the administration,

Gioacchino was invited

by the Borgetto expatriates in America.

He agreed to take

the Holy Madonna del Romitello to them.

Pino Maniaci didn't hesitate

to ruin the event,

to discredit the administration,

the Americans,

the people from Borgetto in general.

This made me really angry.

They did everything they could

to make it look like some Mafia thing.

[ominous music playing]

Obviously, the Mayor wanted

to defend himself against the claims

made about the meetings in America.

AUGUST 2014

We called them

"close encounters of the third kind."

This is how he responded.

[Pino] Was New York clean?

To tell you the truth,

New York is like

any other city in the world.

- [Pino] Was it clean?

- No.

- [Pino] It was dirty.

- But there are problems in every city.

We saw a lot of garbage there.

I At first, I didn't get it.

I thought "garbage" meant garbage,

but he was actually referring

to the Mafia.

[Pino] I was talking about

American garbage

in terms of your meetings.

You were referring to other things.

I I I didn't get it.

None of the people

you are alluding to were there.

[Panettino] Pino Maniaci let me respond

about the events in America

and give my opinion.

But with his his, let's say,

usual way of doing things,

when he eh did that report,

he manipulated my my my interview,

my response, everything,

so nothing I said made sense.

[ominous music playing]

APRIL 2018

GIOACCHINO DE LUCA

AND THE BORGETTO COUNCIL

SUE MANIACI FOR DEFAMATION

MANIACI TRIAL

ACCUSATION OF DEFAMATION

WITNESS: DE LUCA

Mr. De Luca, can you summarize

the terms of your complaint

against Giuseppe Maniaci's TV report?

When I returned from America,

Mr. Maniaci did a report

saying that we didn't go there

to represent the Borgetto Council

but to meet some mafiosos

originally from Borgetto.

He tarnished all of us

with this absurd, ridiculous slander,

which is just a a a problem in his head.

He made it up.

[Parrino] So, Mr. De Luca.

I I'd like to show

the witness some photos.

I'm showing you the first page

of the file called

"Video recordings, USA visit."

I want to know

if you recognize the person on the right

wearing dark glasses,

and a sort of shirt, and necklace.

Do you know them?

No.

Did you look properly?

- [Parrino] And answer into the microphone.

- No. I said "no."

- [Parrino] You don't know them?

- No.

The person I showed you

is one Francesco Rappa,

known as "One-handed Frank."

He's a known member

of the Cosa Nostra Mafia organization.

Does the name mean anything to you?

If you watch Pino Maniaci's broadcast,

if the prosecutor doesn't have a copy,

I do

- Excuse me.

- [De Luca] He talks about

Mr. De Luca, please. Answer my question.

- [De Luca] I am answering.

- I didn't ask you about

- I'm answering.

- [Parrino] Forget Pino Maniaci.

You need to give me time to answer.

There were so many people there,

and I don't doubt it

because the photos prove he was there.

I didn't see him or know him.

I don't know who you're talking about.

But if you saw him,

would you recognize him?

Absolutely not

because to be honest

When did this man go to America?

No, you don't ask the questions.

Answer the questions!

I don't know him! I don't!

- I don't know him!

- I object. Don't raise your voice.

It's a simple clarification request.

[Parrino] Your Honor.

I can do what I want in cross-examination.

- No, you can't!

- She objects, and you decide!

I said, "If you saw him,

would you recognize him?"

[De Luca] I said no, I don't

I said it. I don't know him.

- [Parrino] Okay.

- [De Luca] I don't know him.

I deny it categorically. I don't know him!

[Pino] Today we've won a battle

but not the w*r

because there are still things

to be done to win the w*r.

Despite everything,

I still believe in justice.

We'll see.

[church bells ringing]

[birds chirping]

MAY 2017

[news jingle playing]

TELEJATO NEWS

[newscaster] Borgetto Council

is disbanded due to Mafia infiltration.

Very serious forms of interference

of organized crime have emerged.

Welcome to today's Telejato News.

Let me say that we are not happy

to hear that the Borgetto Council

has been disbanded

due to serious Mafia infiltrations.

This proves

that everything we've been saying

is in fact true.

FOLLOWING AN INVESTIGATION

BY THE CARABINIERI INTO MAFIA INFILTRATION

IN BORGETTO'S COUNCIL

DE LUCA WAS REMOVED

FROM HIS POST AS MAYOR IN 2017

Before our editorial,

which will tell you the whole story,

we want to start with some reports

that we have done over time.

[reporter] The investigations have left

no doubt that the Mafia

played a crucial role

in favoring the election of some figures

in the Council belonging

to Mayor De Luca's Party.

What will the ex-Mayor do now?

- [birds singing]

- [cello music playing]

I'm proud that I was Mayor of Borgetto.

I did it with all my heart.

I was elected democratically.

I tried to do

positive things for this town.

[indistinct chatter from restaurant]

He spread false information,

and he still gets to carry on,

but I can't anymore.

I was chucked out.

I was suspended.

It was a huge injustice.

He continues to say that I was disbanded

for Mafia infiltration.

No. It was for being suspected

of Mafia infiltration,

which is a different thing.

Accusations that I met

with Mafia members in New York.

All of this is unfounded.

There's no proof, and the investigations

have found absolutely nothing.

My case has been archived,

and he carries on

spreading false information.

[processional music playing]

[church bells ringing]

[Parrino] In Pino Maniaci's trial,

the most serious accusation is extortion.

The video made by the Carabinieri

was considered by the prosecutor

as one of the main pillars

supporting the extortion charge.

We know that Pino is innocent.

We just have to find a way to show

that the video is unreliable.

[men talking on the video]

[suspenseful music playing]

Imagine paying extortion money so readily,

with the person being extorted

right in front of a camera,

counting the money very clearly

and speaking out loud.

It was all too perfect.

And when it's all too perfect,

it means something's not right.

De Luca knew that that room was bugged.

He knew he was being watched.

It was a setup,

it was a trap for Maniaci.

[dramatic music playing]