Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani had the mafia “Boss of bosses” out to kill him in the 1980s.
Salvatore Riina of the Sicilian mafia wanted Mr. Giuliani, then U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, dead because of his friendship with Sicilian anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, the New York Post reported. Mr. Giuliani survived — Falcone did not. He was assassinated in 1992.
The Post reported that specifics came to light after a trial in Sicily unearthed evidence of a “peace pact” between government officials and the mob in the 1990s.
During the trial it came to light that a mobster named Benedetto “The Beast” Villico flew to the U.S. from Italy and gave a letter to mafioso Rosario Naimo, demanding Mr. Giuliani’s murder. The plan, which the former mayor said on Oprah was worth $800,000, was ultimately dropped because the Sicilian mafia feared the blow-back it would bring by the U.S. government, the Post reported.
Mr. Giuliani told Oprah that during the end of his political career another hit was put out on him for $400,000. “I kind of felt bad that I went down in value,” he told the talk show host.
Riina is serving multiple life sentences, the Post reported. “Gentlemen, you are making a big mistake,” is what he told police in Palermo when he was apprehended in 1993, Time magazine reported.
SEE ALSO: Italy shocked at Mafia’s fatal hit of 3-year-old boy
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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