"The pig" is free.

The news that one of the most bloodthirsty bosses of Cosanostra, Giovanni Brusca, has been a free man since a few days ago, went around the world without attracting special attention, not only because of the current, much greater horrors, but also because of the usual idea of ​​the Italian judiciary, capable of producing all kinds of surprises. But, unlike earlier cases when mafia killers went unpunished due to procedural errors, inadequate witness protection, the statute of limitations or all of that together, this time everything was in accordance with the letter of the law. Thus, the man whom his associates affectionately called either Pig (in Sicilian "in verro"), illustrating the strength of his character, or Scannacristiani (butcher of the innocent), as of May 31 of this year, was acquitted of all accusations, guilt and punishment, and the state, in addition to all that, owes him a change of identity, lifelong security and a decent allowance.

Bruska was arrested on May 20, 1996, so he has so far served 25 years of rigorous imprisonment, to which should be added four years spent outside the prison wire, under special supervision. But still...

photo: wikipedia.org

How is it possible that a man who admitted that he most certainly "didn't kill more than 200 people, but not less than one hundred and fifty" and was sentenced to multiple life sentences, be, after all, both free and rewarded? The list of his crimes also includes the assassination carried out in May 1992, when he personally, using a mobile phone, activated half a ton of explosives placed under the Palermo-Trapani highway and thus killed judge Giovanni Falcone, along with his wife and three members of his security. He also participated in the preparations for the assassination of Falconi's closest associate, investigative judge Paolo Borsellino, who was killed a few months later in a car bomb explosion in Via Amelio in Palermo, along with five security personnel. He is also credited with one of the most heinous crimes in the history of Italian mafias - the murder of the boy Giuseppe de Matteo, who was held captive for two and a half years, then strangled, and his corpse dissolved in acid.

AND FROM THE STATE - FREEDOM FOR "PENTECENTS"

The answer to the question of how it is possible to release such a criminal from a prison sentence will not be understandable to anyone who does not have a basic understanding of the way the mafia exists, its laws, and therefore the strategy of fighting against this social evil. It is also unacceptable to a good part of the Italian public, irritated by frequent, hard-to-explain, mild judgments, for which there was always a detailed, official interpretation.

Due to the traditional "conspiracy of silence", which was also reinforced by citizens' distrust in the power of the state, which should protect them from revenge, the operational work of investigative bodies encountered an insurmountable obstacle when it was necessary to provide evidence for any committed atrocity. Hence, usually, everyone knows everything, but no one says anything, nor does it occur to him without great trouble. With thin evidence, highly skilled lawyers and rampant corruption, any insufficiently substantiated accusation would quickly turn into a court farce. Mafias (Kozanostra, Ndrangheta, Camorra...) not only brutally punished those who decided to speak, but also, based on their indestructible tradition, offered absolute protection to their arrested members and their families.

The investigation, if it did not have the possibility to blackmail the arrested person in any way, had nothing to offer him. He went to prison knowing that his family was safe, that his wife would receive a very decent financial compensation every month, that his children would be provided with an education and a very safe career, most often in the ranks of the mafia itself but also outside of it. The state could offer only one thing: personal freedom, which is a gift that is hard to refuse. In order to achieve something like that, the idea first had to be translated into law. Judge Giovanni Falcone insisted on this the most, otherwise a very successful mafia hunter, who, at the head of a selected investigative team, greatly contributed to the organization of the Maxi Trial in Palermo (February 1986 - December 1987), when 460 members of the Cozanostra were prosecuted with an epilogue of 19 life sentences and prison sentences totaling 2665 years. It was about a man who knew very well what should be armed with investigative bodies that during all those decades of struggle suffered strong blows, both from the mafia and from corrupt parts of the state (judicial) administration. This is how Law no. 82 of March 15, 1991, which guarantees "penitents" a reduction in prison terms and personal safety. That's how it happened that Giovanni Brusca was acquitted on the basis of a law that his most famous victim insisted upon: Judge Falcone himself.

That it is not an "ordinary" absurdity, but an official one that is an occasional but persistent companion of Justice, was confirmed by Maria Falcone, the sister of Judge Giovanni, who also serves in the judicial structures of the Republic: "From a human perspective, I am outraged by the acquittal of this man who committed terrible crimes such as the murder of a child, but I am in favor of strict compliance with the law, especially since it was my brother who insisted on its adoption."

The status of "repentant" is not easily acquired, that is, it is not enough to snitch on the "Peru porter" and get out of prison. The law prescribes the minimum sentence that should be served, and the investigation should assess to whom this offer can be made, i.e. to what extent the "collaborator" could contribute to untangling cases that, by force of circumstances, were gathering dust in court archives. Bruska showed himself to be up to the task and, among other things, revealed details that can be considered as a significant contribution to the elucidation of the connections between the mafia and the representatives of the state in charge of the fight against this evil. This very sensitive topic has occupied the attention of the Italian public for years, breaking out, from time to time, in the form of major scandals related to leading political groups and their exponents, starting from Andreotti and ending with Berlusconi, and its topicality is not negligible even today. On the contrary. At the lower levels of the state structure, cases in which the interests of organized crime and the state meet or intertwine are both more numerous and more difficult to detect, especially since the higher levels of government are either disinterested or themselves corrupt. The new rule of the new age is: the mafia doesn't kill anymore. He just pays.

photo: ap

JUDGE FALCONE - BRUSH'S NAMEBOOK, PERSECUTOR AND VICTIM

The price of the offer for consent to cooperation increased especially after the expansion of the Criminal Code by Article 41 - bis from 1986 and its significant amendment in 1992, after the murder of Judge Falcone. In cases of serious crimes, when this article is applied, a very strict treatment of prisoners is foreseen, which is reflected in complete isolation in relation to the environment in which they are serving their sentence, as well as almost symbolic contacts with the outside world, primarily the family. A sentence of life imprisonment in such a regime could seem extremely depressing even for "pig" characters like Giovanni Brusca. However, he made the decision to cooperate with the investigation only after four years of deliberation, after he tried to cover up some of his findings in various ways, and above all, the secret funds that the investigation had not yet managed to uncover at that time. Since he was dealing with experienced investigators, it all fell through the cracks, and Article 41-bis continued to appear from every corner of his cell with a disarming smile. By agreeing to cooperate with the investigation, he became a very serious role model for other criminals of his type, which was also counted as a positive count. His release from prison showed that the state keeps its word.

In addition to being released on the basis of the law promoted by Judge Falcone, Giovanni Brusca's life path once again crossed paths with this man's name: the judge had already been dead for four years when, a day or two before the official date of his death, which is celebrated with special piety in Sicily, Brusca was arrested just as he was sitting at the table with his family and watching a special program dedicated to Judge Falcone on television. It was on May 20, 1996, when members of the special anti-mafia unit managed to locate the house where Bruska was hiding. The few days leading up to his arrest were very tense for them. Namely, one of the agents managed to spot a boy in the village of Canatelo, near Agriđento, who resembled Bruska's son David, but the latter disappeared from his field of vision and disappeared in one of the surrounding yards. A possible intrusion into the wrong house would alert the fugitive and he would most certainly get out, since these shelters, as a rule, have at least one secret exit. Therefore, the pursuers had to be sure where to hit. Then someone remembered: since Bruska's phone was constantly tapped, sometimes, during the conversation, church bells could be heard. That's why one policeman was given the task of removing the muffler from his motorcycle and slowly driving around the neighborhood. When they could clearly hear the piercing sound of the engine in the listening station, it meant that it was close to the required location. With a lot of patience and no less caution, the venture was repeated several times over the course of four days until the last doubt was removed. Then an invasion was ordered, in a way that already happens on similar occasions: masked policemen in plainclothes, long pipes, breaking the door... The household - wife, brother and daughter-in-law with three children - were just helping themselves to potatoes and chicken from a large pan. Giovanni was standing by the window with the phone – the traitor in his hands. He immediately realized where he had gone wrong and threw the phone out the window in disgust. The footage of the show about the murder of the investigating judge, his namesake, persistent pursuer and finally the victim - Giovanni Falcone - was showing on the TV screen. While the search was going on, an inscription appeared on the screen: "Agridiento - arrested Giovanni Brusca". The debt was settled.

The scene of the arrest was then shown several times in primetime news shows. Members of the operative anti-mafia group, strong guys in masks could not contain their enthusiasm: they fired whole bursts into the air, which was completely unbelievable to the television audience from the north of this country. All members of the strike group that participated in the arrest were colleagues and friends of the three members of Judge Falconi's security who died in the assassination together with him. They have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

Giovanni Brusca waited twenty-nine years for his chance. And waited. His freedom was paid for by many others in his industry who, thanks to his testimony, were stuck in prison for many years. Many lives were saved in this way, and justice was enabled to triumph. Bruska will only have to solve his problem with freedom if he has already solved the problem with justice, and what will be more difficult - he will see for himself. True, he will not be the only one among those who spend their lives under constant state surveillance, surrounded by bodyguards and discreet guards. There are also judges, prosecutors, police officers, journalists and other fighters against the scourge of the mafia. But everyone knows that the mafia does not forgive: they may see through their opponents because they were just doing their job, but their traitors - hardly. A farewell would be a blow to the very foundation of the "honorable company", as the mobsters reverently call their organization. In addition, Giovanni Brusca will be watched by those "between a hundred and two hundred pairs of eyes" that he personally extinguished with his own hands. He will never escape from them, even if he goes to the end of the world.