Controversial Liberation of Notorious Killer Giovanni Brusca, Accused of Judge Falcone's Assassination, Sparks Nationwide Debate in Italy
Oh boy, the infamous "Strangler" is finally a free man! After spending 25 years behind bars and four more under house arrest, Giovanni Brusca - yeah, that guy - has officially squared things up with the justice system. Remember that bloody mess back in '92 when anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone was taken out? Yep, ol' Johnny was the one who pulled the trigger on that fateful day. And just a few weeks later, he was one of the brains behind the assassination of a second anti-mafia magistrate, Paolo Borsellino. He used to be the big boss of the Corleone clan, working under the wing of Toto Riina before that.
The Man Who Pushed the TriggerBrusca is the one who set off the bomb that claimed Judge Falcone's life near Palermo, on May 23, 1992. A couple of months later, he was one of the masterminds behind the assassination of Borsellino.
It wasn't just the judges he targeted. He's also known for the gruesome killing of the son of a pentito, under abhorrent conditions. And yet, it was as a pentito himself, just a few months after his arrest in 1996, that Brusca found his freedom again. Italy's law on pentiti, ironically promoted by Falcone himself, allows for sentence reductions. In reality, he's been fully free for over a year now, but the news is just breaking now. He's living under a new identity these days.
A Pentito with a Controversial Release
Brusca's release has divided opinions in Italy. "What are we going to tell the kids in school?", questions the widow of one of Falcone's bodyguards. The judge who arrested him in 1996 admits to understanding the public's anger, but insists that a trustworthy nation keeps its promises. In 2016, 20 years after his arrest, the pentito was interviewed in prison by French documentary maker Mosco Levi Boucault. "The time has come to seize this opportunity and ask for forgiveness, to ask for pardon from all the relatives of the victims I have caused so much suffering to. I consider Cosa Nostra a chain of deaths", he declared.
A Pentito Who Enabled Arrests?
Was Brusca a genuine and active pentito? He did certainly help out with a few arrests and convictions. He shed some light on the connections between Cosa Nostra and politics, according to magistrate Caselli, who arrested him. But the news of his freedom is a "dagger to the heart of the entire country", writes a journalist specializing in organized crime.
Controversial Release and Mixed ReactionsThe release of Giovanni Brusca, infamous for his involvement in the assassinations of judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, has sparked a divisive debate in Italy.
Pentito Brusca's Questionable ReleaseThe widow of one of Falcone's bodyguards queries, "What are we going to tell the kids in school?" as controversy surrounds Brusca's release, which was facilitated by Italy's law on pentiti, a law ironically promoted by the very judge he helped take down.
