Last trip of the “Godfather”. Top Channel follows Toto Riina’s funeral in Corleone

21/11/2017 20:45

Toto Riina is one of the main Italian mafia leaders who died without being repented for his crimes. He received hundreds of life sentences for hundreds of murders.

Riina was the leader of Italy’s most notorious criminal organization, Cosa Nostra. His criminal empire spread from the Corleone area to the entire Western world.

Riina died in prison, and this Tuesday he was sent to his birthplace. He was sentenced for the murder of Prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.

Top Channel’s journalist, Thimi Samarxhiu, is currently in Sicily where he is following the funeral.

Ilir Paco: “Thimi, you are at what is called “Falcone’s Tree”, a symbolic tree where people leave messages against the mafia. The man who ordered the murder of Falcone has also died. How is Sicily experiencing Riina’s death?

Thimi Samarxhiu: “Palermo, Catania and all of Sicily are not the same as 25 years ago when bombs and mafia wars were leaving many victims on the streets. Riina left this world and many other known names of the crime world have left together with him. There is still a criminal network in Sicily, which deals guns, drug and clandestine. The Godfather may no longer be here, but mafia is still present.

Ilir Paco: This is the last trip of one of the most dangerous criminals that Italy has ever known. Authorities have taken measures and say that everything will be a family ceremony. But there has also been high interest from international media, who are following his trip.

Thimi Samarxhi: “There are police forces and presence of mafia clans. The body will arrive after midnight. The police have taken measures for the funeral to be calm.

Ilir Paco: “Mafia is not just history, but the present, which also affects Albania. You were in Catania a few weeks ago for the trial of Moisi Habilaj. Their trial is still going on, with very strong political implications in Albania.

Thimi Samarxhiu: “Yes, Ilir. The Prosecution of Catania has kept the Habilaj clan under surveillance and arrested most of them. The person considered as the accountant of the organized crime was arrested in Albania. This group is just a small part of very strong ties created between the Albanian and Italian criminality, such as with Ndrangheta, Camorra, Sacra Corona Unita and Cosa Nostra, which are not known only from movies and history. The Albanian and Italian justice authorities are working to hit the networks and these people. As Bertolt Brecht would have said, Toto Riina died, but not the source that brought him to this world.

FOTO GALERI

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