Italy’s anti-mafia police on Thursday presented formal charges against four men suspected of involvement in a car bomb attack that killed a crusading Sicilian judge and his five police guards in 1992.
Charges were brought against mafia boss Salvatore Madonia, who is already in prison and is suspected of being one of the people who ordered the killing of Paolo Borsellino which caused outrage and a renewed drive against the mafia.
Two others, Vittorio Tutino and Salvatore Vitale, are suspected of being executors. Tutino is also in prison while Vitale is in an old person’s home.
The fourth suspect, Calogero Pulci, is a mafia turncoat who is being accused of false testimony in the Borsellino assassination investigation.
The charges were reported by Italian media, which said that they were the result of testimony given by mafia turncoat Gaspare Spatuzza.
Spatuzza reportedly said that Tutino had stolen the car that was used in the attack and provided batteries and antenna for the bomb, the reports said.
He also accused Vitale of providing the explosives and a detonator and of helping to plan the attack by monitoring Borsellino’s movements.
Borsellino was killed because he was considered by then mafia Chief Toto Riina as an obstacle to negotiations between the mafia and political leaders.
The attack occurred on July 19, 1992 just weeks after another judge, Giovanni Falcone, was also assassinated on May 23 along with his wife and three men from his security detail. Falcone’s killers have been brought to justice. -AFP