Witness Protection Program
He lived in an undisclosed location with a new identity in the FBI Witness Protection Program, having been granted American citizenship after testifying against a number of Sicilian Mafiosi at work in the US. It was claimed, and not denied, that Marino Mannoia received US$ 600 000 when he gave evidence against Giulio Andreotti in the spring of 1993. At the time he was living at liberty in the US on US$3000 per month plus his father’s pension, all paid from Italy.
He served a cumulative 17 year jail sentence in Italy and the U.S. which he finished in February 2010. In June 2011, after 16 years under protection by the US Marshall Service, he returned to Italy. Forced to not have an own identity and live in uncomfortable conditions, he considered the conditions of life in the United States unacceptable to him and especially his family. His wife and two children could not adapt to life in the United States. His monthly allowance in Italy was cut back to mere 1,000 euros a month.
Marino Mannoia was desillusioned by the little reward and support he received from the Italian government in relation to the sacrifice he made and family members that had been killed. "I am disappointed, embittered, after everything I have done for the fight against the Mafia since 1989," he said. He attempted a suicide by taking a cocktail of pharmaceuticals in July 2011, but was saved by his wife who got him to the hospital in time.
Read more about this topic: Francesco Marino Mannoia
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