Son of Notorious Mafia Boss Sparks Outrage in Corleone with Social Media Post

 

The son of the infamous Cosa Nostra mafia boss, Salvatore “Totò” Riina, has ignited controversy in the Sicilian town of Corleone with a social media post that has been condemned as a "vile attack" against the Italian state.

Giuseppe Salvatore Riina, also known as “Salvuccio,” posted a "happy holiday" message on Ferragosto, a national holiday in Italy celebrated on August 15. He referenced “via Scorsone 24, Corleone, Italy” as his location, which stirred backlash. The address had been the Riina family home for years until 2018 when the street name was changed to Via Terranova in honor of anti-mafia judge Cesare Terranova, assassinated in 1979 by the Corleone mafia boss Luciano Liggio.

The street name change was mandated by interior ministry commissioners who administered Corleone after its town hall was dissolved due to mafia infiltration. The town, prominently featured in "The Godfather" book and film series, has been trying to distance itself from its mobster past.

Newly elected mayor Walter Rà condemned Riina’s post as “cowardly” and reaffirmed that Corleone has moved beyond its dark history. "We won’t allow it," he told Italian media. "We have turned the page here; nobody will make us go backward."

In response to the uproar, Salvuccio Riina edited his post to remove the reference to “via Scorsone.”

Totò Riina, nicknamed “the Beast,” died in prison in 2017. He was responsible for over 150 murders, including that of a 13-year-old boy dissolved in acid and the 1992 assassinations of anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.

Salvuccio returned to Corleone in 2023 after serving nearly nine years in prison for mafia association, money laundering, and extortion. He had also spent time in Veneto and Abruzzo under a social services scheme. Corleone’s previous administration had attempted to expel him to protect the town's reputation.

In a statement, Corleone's current leaders said, “Although we do not want to give further visibility to those who periodically seek it, we firmly distance ourselves from such declarations and strongly condemn such bravado, which sounds like a vile attack against the state and institutions. The utterances of Riina Jr. accentuate a negative and distorted vision of Corleone, tarnishing the community’s daily efforts to free itself from a reputation linked to mafia and crime. Corleone is not mafia. Corleone is history, culture, freedom, and, above all, legality, all of which highly questionable characters will never undermine.”

Salvuccio Riina reportedly married his Spanish partner in Spain in June and hosted a post-wedding party in Corleone with 200 guests. In 2016, he wrote the controversial book "Riina Family Life," which many bookstores refused to sell.

Totò Riina had three other children: Maria Concetta, Giovanni Francesco, and Lucia. Giovanni, also a Cosa Nostra member, received a life sentence in 1996. In 2019, Lucia opened a restaurant called Corleone near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, but it closed a year later.