Tommaso Buscetta made history in 1982 by becoming the first member of the Sicilian Mafia to break omertà, the code of silence. His cooperation with Italian and U.S. law enforcement put nearly 400 mafiosi in jail. These are 15 things to know about the soldier-turned-informant.
Buscetta was the only one of his 17 siblings to join the Mafia.
He started his life of crime as a cigarette smuggler in Sicily.
Buscetta never rose in rank, but was well-respected in the crime world.
He earned the nickname “The Boss of Two Worlds” for his work in Brazil and Brooklyn. In Brooklyn, he worked with the Gambino crime family.
Before he became an informant, Buscetta violated Mafia code by having multiple wives and numerous affairs.
In 1972, Buscetta spent eight years in an Italian prison for drug trafficking. He returned to his wife Cristina in Brazil after his sentence to avoid the Second Mafia War.
In 1982, Mafia hitmen murdered five of Buscetta’s family members, including two sons. This was an important factor in his decision to cooperate with law enforcement.
Buscetta testified against Mafia members in the Maxi Trial in Palermo, Italy. With his cooperation, the largest trial against the Mafia ended with 342 convictions.
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U.S. law enforcement kept Buscetta hidden in New Jersey because Italy did not have a witness protection program.
Buscetta also testified in the Pizza Connection Trial brought by Rudy Giuliani in 1985. Seventeen people were convicted for participating in an international drug ring.
The first person Buscetta spoke to after breaking the code of silence was anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, warning him that they were now targets. Falcone was murdered in 1992.
The Mafia killed 11 of Buscetta’s family members in retaliation for his testimony. Surviving members live in witness protection to this day.
Buscetta gained U.S. citizenship and spent the rest of his life in the witness protection program. He died of cancer in 2000 at age 71 and was buried under a fake name in Miami.
In 2019, Mark Franchetti and Andrew Meier released the documentary “Our Godfather: The Man the Mafia Could Not Kill” on Netflix. Members of Buscetta’s family, including Cristina and son Roberto, appeared in the film to help tell his story.
“The Traitor,” a movie based on Buscetta’s life, premiered internationally in 2019. It was nominated for four European Film Awards.
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