Giuseppe Calderone Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth and Family

Originally, Catania was not a traditional Mafia area. The Mafia was much more entrenched in the western part of Sicily. According to Pippo’s brother Antonino Calderone (who became a pentito in 1987) the first Mafia family in Catania was started by Antonio Saitta. He had been prosecuted by Mussolini’s Iron Prefect, Cesare Mori. One of his daughters was the mother of Giuseppe and Antonino Calderone.

One of the more bizarre anecdotes Calderone’s brother Antonio Calderone (who became a state witness in 1987) related in his memoirs was that of Riina giving an impassioned eulogy of Pippo Calderone as a great peacemaker at the funeral that reduced many hardened mafiosi to tears, even though they knew that Riina himself probably had ordered the killing.

In January 1978, Salvatore “Ciaschiteddu” Greco, the old and ailing former head of the Sicilian Mafia Commission, came all the way from Venezuela to try to restrain Calderone, Di Cristina, Gaetano Badalamenti and Salvatore Inzerillo from retaliating against the growing power of the Corleonesi. Di Cristina and Badalamenti wanted to kill Francesco Madonia, the boss of Vallelunga Mafia family and an ally of the Corleonesi in the province of Caltanissetta. Greco tried to convince them not to go ahead and offered Di Cristina to emigrate to Venezuela.

Nevertheless, Calderone, Badalamenti and Di Cristina decided to go on and Francesco Madonia was murdered on April 8, 1978, by Di Cristina and Salvatore Pillera (from Catania, who was dispatched by Calderone). In retaliation, Di Cristina was killed in May 1978 by the Corleonesi. Next was Giuseppe Calderone, who was killed on September 8, 1978. His rival Nitto Santapaola – who had forged an alliance with the Corleonesi – took over the command of the Catania Mafia Family. These killings were just a prelude to the Second Mafia War that really started after the murder of Stefano Bontade in 1981.

Calderone and Di Cristina recognised the danger. Calderone was challenged by Nitto Santapaola in Catania, while Francesco Madonia, not to be confused with his relative Francesco “Ciccio” Madonia, wanted to eliminate Di Cristina in the province of Caltanissetta. On November 21, 1977, Di Cristina survived a shooting, but his most loyal men Giuseppe Di Fede and Carlo Napolitano were murdered by the Corleonesi. Madonia was suspected to be behind the attack.

He became the ‘secretary’ of the Interprovincial Commission, formed around 1975 on his instigation. Its purpose was to coordinate the provincial Mafia commissions and avoid conflicts over public contracts that crossed provincial borders. Calderone was killed in 1978, on the orders of Totò Riina.

In February 1975 an Interprovincial Commission was formed on the instigation of Giuseppe Calderone who became its first “secretary”. It was meant to coordinate the provincial Mafia commissions and avoid conflicts over business interests such as public works contracts that crossed provincial borders. The other members were Gaetano Badalamenti for Palermo, Giuseppe Settecasi (Agrigento), Cola Buccellato (Trapani), Angelo Mongiovì (Enna) and Giuseppe Di Cristina (Caltanissetta).

In the beginning of the 1970s, the Calderone clan developed a relationship with the construction entrepreneur Carmelo Costanzo – one of the four Cavalieri del Lavoro (Knights of Labour), together with Francesco Finocchiaro, Mario Rendo and Gaetano Graci – who needed the mafiosi for protection. Construction sites of rival companies were bombed and at least one rival of Costanzo was assassinated. They made sure there would be no problems for Costanzo’s companies when they worked elsewhere in Sicily.

Giuseppe Calderone became one of the leaders of Cosa Nostra. He established good relationships with the Mafia families from Palermo. On June 17, 1970 the traffic police in Milan stopped an Alfa Romeo for speeding. In the car were Tommaso Buscetta, Salvatore “Ciaschiteddu” Greco, Gerlando Alberti, Gaetano Badalamenti and Giuseppe Calderone. Unaware of the identity of the men in the car the police let them continue their journey.

At the time, Calderone was also involved in the negotiations between Cosa Nostra and prince Junio Valerio Borghese who asked for support for his plans for a neo-fascist coup in return for a pardon of convicted mafiosi like Vincenzo Rimi and Luciano Leggio. According to Mafia turncoat Tommaso Buscetta the prince Borghese wanted a list with all mafiosi of Sicily. Calderone and Giuseppe Di Cristina went to Rome and met the prince Borghese. They told Borghese they wouldn’t give him any list and also asked him to manage the trials they were interested in. However, the Mafia decided not to participate and the so-called Golpe Borghese fizzled out in the night of December 8, 1970.

In the early 1960s, Calderone was already a man of honor and had the role of consigliere within the Catania mafia, which at the time was headed by Orazio Nicotra. In the mid-1960s, Giuseppe becomes the capo of the Catania’s mafia family.

Giuseppe “Pippo” Calderone (Catania, November 1, 1925 – Catania, September 8, 1978) was an influential Sicilian mafioso from Catania, eventually becoming the capo of the Catania Mafia family.