Sicilian Mafioso turned snitch Gaspare Spatuzza needs to re-watch a pivotal
scene from Goodfellas. While testifying against Marcello Dell'Utri,
an Italian politican, Spatuzza dropped a dime on Italian Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi for having
ties to the Mafia. Spatuzza is serving life in prison for two murders.
Dell'Utri was earlier convicted of Mafia associations and sentenced to nine
years in jail, something he is now appealing. He was a co-founder of
Berlusconi's political party, Forza
Italia and a senior advisor to the prime minister. As is common for
political heavyweights in Italy, Dell'Utri hasn't served any jail time, despite
convictions.
Spatuzza told his story from behind a screen in the courtroom, testifying
that his former employer, mob boss Guiseppe Graviano used to brag about how
close he was with Berlusconi in the 1990s.
"Two names were mentioned, one of them was Berlusconi's," he said.
"Graviano told me that thanks to the seriousness of these people, we had
the country in our hands."
A Berlusconi spokesman denied the allegations, saying the Mafia was trying
to harm the prime minister's credibility because of his recent crackdown on organized
crime. Dell'Utri thinks Berlusconi has bigger things to worry about.
"Of course Berlusconi is completely calm about it too - he's more
afraid of his wife than Spatuzza," he said, referring to Berlusconi's
pending divorce after he allegedly pulled a Tiger Woods.
The mounting pressure against Berlusconi was evident in Saturday's
rally in which tens of thousands came together in Rome calling on the prime
minister to resign.
VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images
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