Early Mafia Connections
According to the "pentito" (Mafia defector) Tommaso Buscetta, Lima’s father, Vincenzo Lima, was a "man of honour" of the Palermo Centro Mafia family that was led by Salvatore and Angelo La Barbera of which Buscetta's family – the Porta Nuova Mafia family – was part as well. The La Barbera brothers helped Salvo Lima getting elected. Buscetta himself met Salvo Lima many times and they became good friends. Every year Lima provided Buscetta with tickets for the Teatro Massimo in Palermo.
At the time, the public and authorities did not know these connections. Buscetta only revealed facts about the relations between mafiosi and politicians after judge Giovanni Falcone was killed in 1992. However, already in 1964 one of Falcone’s predecessors, judge Cesare Terranova, unequivocally demonstrated Lima’s connections with the La Barberas. In an indictment in 1964, Terranova wrote: "it is clear that Angelo and Salvatore La Barbera (well-known bosses in the Palermo area) ... knew former mayor Salvatore Lima and maintained relations in such a way as to ask for favours. ... The undeniable contacts of the La Barbera mafiosi with the one who was the first citizen of Palermo ... constitute a confirmation of ... the infiltration of the Mafia in several sectors of public life." Nevertheless, Lima was allowed to continue in politics as if nothing had happened.
Read more about this topic: Salvatore Lima
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