“Reluctantly, Aldo Ercolano ordered the ‘men of honour’ to withdraw.’’īorn in Catania in 1962, Avola is believed to have killed about 80 people, including journalists, lawyers, politicians and mobsters, before becoming a pentito, or informer. It made the execution impossible,” Avola said. “The American politician arrived with extremely tight surveillance, lots of bodyguards and a bulletproof car. ![]() Meanwhile, according to Avola a much more immediate risk was taking shape in the city of Messina, where a mafia hit squad was planning a daylight attack on Cuomo in the main square.Īround a dozen gunmen armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles and explosives were to carry out the ambush, while accomplices were ready to block potential escape routes, said Avola.īut just a few days before Cuomo was due in Messina, Ercolano called off the attack. Photograph: Fabrizio Villa/APĬuomo replied: “Of course, any Italian American politician risks being associated with the mafia, not least because the media continuously plays on this image.” Soon after his arrival, a journalist from Corriere della Sera asked whether having an Italian surname was damaging for an American politician. It would have made them understand what happens to those who stand in the Mafia’s way,” he said.Ĭuomo arrived in Rome on 19 November 1992 for a week of meetings. His death would have sent a strong signal to New York. “Cuomo was a symbol of America which during those years hosted collaborators who wanted out of Cosa Nostra and then got their bosses arrested. ![]() Targeting a prominent American would also send a warning to the law enforcement agencies who had allowed several prominent mafia turncoats to start new lives in the US under assumed identities, Avola said. When Cuomo’s visit to Italy was announced, Avola’s godfather, Aldo Ercolano, told him that the New York governor would be an “excellent target”. “The aim was to target politicians or members of institutions in order to send out a clear message,” he said, in an interview via messages carried by his lawyer. The attack was only called off when the scale of Cuomo’s security detail became apparent, he said.Īvola said that after the assassinations of prominent anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino in 1992, Cosa Nostra bosses decided to escalate their war against the Italian state and its allies.
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