ITALY:The case of a mobster gang-raped to punish him for being gay shines a light on Mafia morals, writes PADDY AGNEW
COSA NOSTRA does not like a gay. Indeed, Cosa Nostra tends to have some very traditional, if not to say prudish views on sexuality in general. The Sicilian Mafia might be strong on drug trafficking, racketeering, extortion and many other illegal activities but when it comes to sexuality, the Sicilian godfathers opt for their own peculiar version of the moral high ground.
Sicilian lawyer Antonio Fiumefreddo is the person to have shed the most recent light on one of the least documented realities of the murky world of Cosa Nostra. In a YouTube interview with Swiss journalist and TV personality Klaus Davi, he recounted the story of "Giovanni", a 20-year-old mobster serving time in Catania's Piazza Lanza prison.
Giovanni made the mistake of letting it be known that he likes to write poetry. Given also that the "men of honour" in his "family" noticed Giovanni's allegedly effeminate manner, he was soon seen as a less than "honourable" figure. According to lawyer Fiumefreddo, they decided to punish Giovanni, offering him the following explanation: "Only a queer would write poetry and for that reason you deserve to be sodomised."
And so it was. Giovanni was so brutally gang-raped by eight members of his family that he later required eight stitches to his anus. The incident in question took place two years ago but, surprise, surprise, no action was taken against Giovanni's attackers. Often, says Fiumefreddo, such incidents merit nothing more than an internal notification.
There is nothing new about the fact that episodes of prison violence remain behind closed prison gates. Nor, unfortunately, is this phenomenon limited to Sicily. What is interesting about Giovanni's case is the virulent homophobia expressed by Cosa Nostra. The point about the Sicilian Mob is that they strongly disapprove of any form of heterosexual deviance or dalliance while homosexual activity is totally off their "moral" radar.
To speak of "morality" in relation to hardened, violent killers and criminals might seem totally inappropriate. Yet, just listen to this exchange back in 1993, when the "Boss of Bosses" Toto Riina, who had been arrested earlier that year, was brought face to face in court with one of the most important Mafia godfathers ever to turn state's witness, Tommaso Buscetta.
As soon as the hearing started, Toto Riina raised an objection with the judge, making reference to the fact that Buscetta had had two wives and two families.
"Signor Presidente, I won't talk with someone of such low morality. My grandfather was widowed and left with five children at the age of 40 and yet he never looked for another wife. My mother was a widow from the age of 36. In our town, Corleone, we all live in a morally correct manner . . ."
An outraged Buscetta was not to be intimidated, pointing out that Riina's moral vision of the world did not seem to object to murder. "From what pulpit is he preaching, he of all people? He accuses me about women, about having had two wives, he who had my sons and many of my closest relatives killed, he who sent many, many innocent people to their deaths."
That exchange, which took place in the special high-security "aula-bunker" of Palermo's Ucciardone prison, would seem to substantiate the view that Cosa Nostra sets much store by "correct" sexual behaviour.
In other words, a real "man of honour" does not betray his wife, does not get divorced, does not frequent prostitutes and does not hassle the women of other men of honour. Above all, a real man of honour cannot be homosexual.
Palermo-based state investigator Antonio Ingroia confirms the homophobic line of Cosa Nostra, telling Klaus Davi in a separate interview: "There are plenty of gay godfathers but they hide it and they certainly don't 'come out' and for a simple reason - they are frightened of being put out of the organisation.
"If being gay still represents a taboo in Italian society at large, you can just imagine how it is perceived in an archaic society such as Cosa Nostra."
Palermo-based psychologist Girolamo Lo Verso, in his book, The Mafia Mind, sheds further light on the Cosa Nostra "moral code". In an interview with "C", a Mafioso turned state's witness, Lo Verso asks the mobster about Mafia sexuality: "They [the godfathers] always tell you that you must respect your wife, where respect also means respect her in bed and they tell you never to do certain things with your wife, the sort of things you do with a prostitute you never do them with a wife."
Irish TV audiences have long since become familiar with the celebrated (and not always flattering) version of the Mob, presented by the immensely successful series, The Sopranos.
Curiously, investigator Ingroia feels that the series, if broadcast in Italy, would do much to undermine the backward Cosa Nostra mentality, and not just in relation to sexuality: "That is a series which jeers the Mafia rather than celebrating it".
Mind you, for men like Ingroia, the Mafia's sexual tastes are the least of his problems. He estimates that 33 per cent of the money that passes through Italian banks today derives from organised crime, "directly or indirectly".
He would doubtless agree with Confesercenti, the association of small businesses, which last October issued a report claiming that "Mafia Inc" is Italy's biggest company, with an estimated annual turnover of €90 billion, or 7 per cent of Italian GDP.
Such a turnover requires serious administration, so much so that between 1999 and 2003, organised crime killed 666 people in Italy (source: Eurispes Rapporto Italia 2004).
And these guys want to take the moral high ground on sex?