Mafia Career
Vitale was born in Partinico (Palermo Province). He was the youngest of three brothers. His brothers Leonardo (27.10.1955) and Michele Vitale (21.05.1957) are mafiosi as well. His first arrest was for stealing vegetables, a rather trivial crime for a future mafia boss. On May 18, 1985 an arrest warrant was issued for arms trafficking. After the arrest of his brother Leonardo Vitale, Vito became the head of the family.
He allied himself to the Corleonesi clan, headed by Totò Riina. His rise in the ranks of Cosa Nostra was due to his proven abilities as a killer and his close connection to Leoluca Bagarella, Riina’s brother in law. "He shoots like a god, and is not afraid of anything," according to a pentito – a mafioso turned state witness.
Vitale cooperated in the kidnap and killing of Giuseppe Di Matteo, the son of fellow mafioso Santo Di Matteo, who had become a pentito in 1993. The boy was held for 26 months to force his father to retract his testimony. The boy was finally strangled on the orders of Giovanni Brusca. Subsequently the body was dissolved in a barrel of acid to destroy the evidence. Vitale, who allegedly supplied the acid, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
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