CVincenzo Agostino, nestled next to his son’s coffin, swears solemnly that he will not cut his hair or beard until justice is done. It was August 10, 1989. Five days later, two mafia killers on a motorcycle killed the policeman Antonino Agostino and his wife Ida, who was five months pregnant. .
The couple were shot dead in broad daylight on the seaside promenade of Villagrazia di Carini, a small town about 20 miles from Palermo. Vincenzo witnessed his son’s pain because the murderer opened a box of bullets at him. He saw his daughter-in-law who was shot in the heart approaching her husband and tried to comfort him, but to no avail.
Last month, a judge issued a report revealing how Antonino Agostino was murdered in the investigation of a fugitive. One of the murderers, Mafia leader Nino Madonia was sentenced to life imprisonment March. Although many unresolved issues and many people involved in the murder are still at large, this is a small step forward.
This sentence sparked discussion again Italy In the slow legal process and the painful struggle to seek judicial closure for the families of innocent victims of the Mafia.
Thirty-two years later, Vincenzo fulfilled his promise: his long beard has now grown to his chest, becoming a symbol of resistance to the mafia leader and the long-term search for the truth about hundreds of relatives of organized crime victims in Italy. .
According to a report by the anti-mafia association Libera, Of the approximately 600 cases of innocent victims of organized crime in Italy, almost 80% were only partially resolved or not resolved at all. Most investigations ended due to lack of evidence, while many other investigations were stuck in endless trials, with dozens of people waiting for judicial action.
The pain and depression caused by the relatives of the victim can lead to a series of psychological problems, such as depression, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts, and post-traumatic stress. The Guardian visited four areas with a history of organized crime in southern Italy and interviewed the parents and children of Mafia victims who demanded retrials in these cases decades after their relatives were murdered.
For more than 30 years, Vincenzo Agostino has been tracking prosecutors tirelessly to persuade them to restart the investigation into his son’s death, which has been closed dozens of times. In an earlier investigation, it was revealed that Antonino was a secret agent in the violent war waged by the Mafia against the Italian state in those years, responsible for finding the fugitive Mafia. His death revealed the alleged relationship between members of the Italian Secret Service and the mafia leader, which is still the focus of today’s investigation.
Vincenzo said: “Today, one thing is clear: some famous members of the country have betrayed my son Antonino and informed the Mafia about his role as a secret agent.” “Betrayed the country and sentenced the police and the magistrate. Who is the representative of the death penalty’s infidelity and deception agency? No, it’s not the time to cut the beard.”
In the 2016 police lineup, Vincenzo selected a colleague of his son who was implicated in the murder. Therefore, the 86-year-old is forced to live under the protection of the police 24 hours a day.
“Watching your son, daughter-in-law, and unborn grandson die will ruin your life. I have a crater-sized wound in my heart,” Vincenzo said. He and his wife Augusta led the battle to expose the murderer of their son. Augusta died in 2019. On the tombstone next to her son in the cemetery of Santa Maria di Gesu in Palermo reads: “Augusta lay here, Antonino’s mother, he is still waiting for truth and justice.”
In another cemetery, about 200 miles away in the territory Calabria’ Ndrangheta, Another father knocked on his son’s tombstone. He asked if he could hear his voice and wanted to know the situation in heaven. His father’s name is Martino Ceravolo and he said that since “Ndrangheta Manslaughtered his 19-year-old son Filippo on October 25, 2012 Near Soriano Calabro.
“That night, Filippo planned to visit his girlfriend who lives in a small town four kilometers from here,” said Martino, 52, who runs a candy store with his son. “His car broke down, so he wanted to hitchhike. A young man from Soriano Calabro offered to take him there. Unfortunately, he got in the wrong car on the wrong night.”
At that time, a fierce war was erupting inside the Ndragota between the powerful Emanuele clan and the Loyero clan. Filippo can’t know Domenico Tassone, who gave him a ride, appeared on the hot list of rival teamsAt around 10 pm, four men surrounded Tasson’s car and started shooting. The bullet designed for Tarson hit Filippo’s head and chest.
“When I arrived at the crime scene, my whole world collapsed,” Martino said, taking sedatives every day to deal with panic attacks. “Tasson screamed and left the car,’They want to kill me!’ He miraculously survived because Filippo was lying in a pool of blood on the ground.”
Filippo’s case was closed due to lack of evidence, and although the prosecutor had identified the four men responsible for the attack, they continued to control the area. “Those criminals took my son’s life—and our lives,” Martino said.
One of Martino’s daughters suffers from depression. Three years ago, after his son’s case was closed again, his wife tried to commit suicide.
“We were abandoned without any psychological support,” Martino said. “I also thought about ending my life. I thought about setting myself on fire in front of the Ministry of Justice.”
The psychological impact on the family can be devastating, especially in the case of “unknown loss” where the victim’s body can never be retrieved. Close family members who live in a persistently unstable state may suffer from severe depression or alcoholism.
“After my father passed away, I have suffered from anxiety and panic attacks for many years, and my mother spent the rest of her life dealing with depression,” said 52-year-old Libera vice president Daniela Marcone.
Daniela’s father, Francesco, shot dead on the night of March 31, 1995 In the stairwell of his apartment building, he was killed by a local mafia in Foggia, Puglia. He is the head of a public tax agency and has condemned corruption in his office and tax evasion by several companies.
Although Marcone’s murder is a textbook mafia murder, his case has not been solved yet. “As far as I know, some mothers reached out to the mafia leaders and begged them to reveal the location of their bodies, just to be able to give their children a glorious funeral.”
Waiting for justice can become so frustrating that many relatives of the victims have become pseudo-detectives. When Angelina Landa learned that the police did not investigate the cause of her father’s death, Michele, a 62-year-old security guard, was allegedly killed by the Naples Camora, She decided to do it herself.
In 2006, the The Casalesi family of the Camora MafiaInspired the TV series “Gomorrah” and turned to the lucrative business of stealing industrial phone batteries. Michel was assigned to guard the Vodafone relay station near Mondragone in Campania, which was controlled by Camora. His charred body was found in his small Fiat car on September 5, 2006.
“My brothers and I agree that we must act as soon as possible,” said Angelina, a 48-year-old elementary school teacher. “Five days after he disappeared, we jumped over the fence where the police removed his burned car. We found his bones in the ashes. Five days later, they still did not remove his body from the car.”
A few months later, investigators closed the case on the grounds of insufficient evidence.
Another comprehensive factor in resolving the case is be quiet, The silent code of the Mafia. “The Mafia rarely testifies against themselves, including their competitors,” Marcone said.
“Mafia murders are difficult to find witnesses among ordinary people, especially in small towns where organized criminal groups are deeply rooted. be quiet It’s a social phenomenon,” she said. “People don’t want to come forward because they are afraid of revenge from their boss. “
“The principle of silence is the foundation of the power of the Mafia,” said Federico Cafiro Draho, the national anti-mafia prosecutor. “The investigation into the murder of the Mafia can be very complicated. The murder ordered by the boss will never have only one perpetrator, but a series of responsible persons. This makes the investigation difficult unless the arrested gang decides to speak up.
Paradoxically, sometimes the hope of retrial mafia cases lies in the hands of the same people who committed these murders: The mafia who was arrested and decided to cooperate with the prosecutor in exchange for a reduced sentenceIn recent years, many “cold cases” have been exposed in such cases.
“I read the newspaper every day, hoping to find news about the recent Mafia traitors,” Marcone said. “I realize this is frustrating, but I have never sought revenge, only justice. Before I find it, I will continue to knock on my son’s grave to let him know that I have not given up.
“Without justice, there can be no peace,” he said. “Not for me, nor for him.”
