Maxi Trial
At the funeral of a policeman murdered by mafiosi in 1985, policemen insulted and spat on two attending politicians, and a fight broke out between them and military police, the carabinieri.
[10] The groundwork for the Maxi Trial was done at the preliminary investigative phase by Palermo's Antimafia Pool, created by judge Rocco Chinnici and consisting of Giovanni Falcone, Paolo Borsellino, Giuseppe Di Lello and Leonardo Guarnotta.
The Antimafia pool was a group of investigating magistrates who closely worked together sharing information on related cases to diffuse responsibility and to prevent one person from becoming the sole institutional memory and solitary target.
In February 1980, he was granted "half-freedom" from prison, immediately fleeing back to Brazil to escape the brewing Second Mafia War instigated by Salvatore Riina.
[14] This was followed by the deaths of his brother Vincenzo, son-in-law Giuseppe Genova, brother-in-law Pietro and four of his nephews, Domenico and Benedetto Buscetta, and Orazio and Antonio D'Amico.
[17] He was extradited to Italy on 28 June 1984,[18] where he attempted suicide by ingestion of barbiturates;[19] when that failed, he decided that he was utterly disillusioned with the Mafia.
[20] Buscetta asked to talk to the anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, and began his life as an informant, referred to as a pentito.
[21] Buscetta revealed information to Falcone for 45 days,[22] explaining the inner workings and hierarchical structures of Cosa Nostra including the Sicilian Mafia Commission,[23] that, until then, were unclear because of the strict code of silence.
[24] However, Buscetta refused to speak with Falcone of the political ties of Cosa Nostra because, in his opinion, the State was not ready for statements of that magnitude, and proved to be quite general on that subject.
Buscetta allegedly put his hand on his shoulder and said: “It’s all right, Totuccio, you can talk.”[27][28] Contorno began collaborating in October 1984, and a week later 127 arrest warrants were issued against mafiosi.
[29] After the preliminary investigations were concluded, on 8 November 1985, judge Antonino Caponnetto issued indictments for the Maxi Trial entitled "Abbate Giovanni + 706".
[1] Among the defendants present were Luciano Leggio, Pippo Calò and Michele Greco, who was arrested while the trial had already started;[35] among those in absentia were Salvatore Riina, Bernardo Provenzano and Nitto Santapaola.
[38] On 9 August 1991, Antonino Scopelliti, who was preparing to argue the government's case in the final appeal of the trial, was murdered by the 'Ndrangheta on behalf of the Mafia.
[24] Riina pinned his hopes on the lengthy appeal process that had frequently set convicted mafiosi free, and he suspended the campaign of murders against officials while the cases went to higher courts.
When the convictions were upheld by the Supreme Court of Cassation on 30 January 1992,[1][42] the council of top bosses headed by Riina reacted by ordering the assassination of Salvatore Lima (on the grounds that he was an ally of Giulio Andreotti), and Falcone.
On 23 May 1992, Falcone, his wife Francesca Morvillo and three police officers in their security detail died in the Capaci bombing on highway A29 outside Palermo.
