Pentito (Italian pronunciation:[penˈtiːto]; lit. "repentant"; plural:pentiti) is used colloquially to designate collaborators of justice in Italiancriminal procedure terminology who were formerly part of criminal organizations and decided to collaborate with apublic prosecutor. The judicial category ofpentiti was originally created in 1970s to combat violence andterrorism during the period of left-wing and right-wing terrorism known as theYears of Lead. During the 1986–87Maxi Trial and after the testimony ofTommaso Buscetta, the term was increasingly applied to former members oforganized crime in Italy who had abandoned their organization and started helping investigators.
In exchange for the information they deliver,pentiti receive shorter sentences for their crimes, in some cases even freedom. In the Italian judicial system,pentiti can obtain personal protection, a new name, and some money to start a new life in another place, possibly abroad.
This practice is common in other countries as well. In the United States, criminalstestifying against their former associates can enter theWitness Protection Program, and be given new identities with supporting paperwork.[1] The Italian Mafia bosses Buscetta andFrancesco Marino Mannoia were allowed to live in the U.S. under new identities in the Witness Protection Program when Italy did not yet have such a program.[2][3]
Among the most famous Mafiapentiti isTommaso Buscetta, the first importantpentito. He was helpful to judgeGiovanni Falcone in describing theSicilian Mafia Commission orCupola, theleadership of the Sicilian Mafia in the 1980s, and identifying the main operational channels that the Mafia used for its business.
In Italy, important successes were achieved with the cooperation ofpentiti in the fight againstterrorism (especially against theRed Brigades), byCarabinieri generalCarlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa (who was later killed by the Mafia).
In the period until the 1990s, there were few, albeit significant,pentiti such as Tommaso Buscetta, Salvatore Contorno, Antonino Calderone, etc. However, this changed during the early 1990s. From 1992, over a thousandmafiosi have agreed to collaborate with Italian justice.[4]
In some cases,pentiti have invented stories to obtain reductions in jail time. A famous case regarded the popular TVanchormanEnzo Tortora, who was falsely accused ofcocaine trafficking andCamorra membership by apentito namedGiovanni Melluso. Tortora was detained for years before being cleared; he developed cancer and died soon after the case was finally solved, some say because of the emotionalstress of his imprisonment.[5]
In some southern Italian communities, the Mafia has a significant presence, and in these areas becoming apentito is tantamount to a death sentence. Indeed, the Mafia family ofTotò Riina based in the town ofCorleone habitually extended the death sentence of thepentiti over to their relatives. For example, several ofTommaso Buscetta's close family members were killed in a long series of murders.[6]
It is often pointed out that the correct term should becollaboratori di giustizia, or "collaborators with justice". The wordpentito implies a moral judgment that is considered inappropriate for the courts of justice to make.[7]
In Italy,pentiti have come under criticism because of the favours they receive and because they would invent stories to receive benefits; they would invent stories to persecute people they do not like; their employment is seen as a reward for criminals, instead of a punishment; and they would be unreliable since they come from a criminal organization. Criticism comes most often from politicians,[who?] especially when they or an associate of theirs is under investigation for connections tothe Mafia.[citation needed] It is therefore interpreted by some as an attempt to discredit one's own accusers, instead of a genuine preoccupation of the common citizen'scivil rights.Luciano Violante, a politician and former president of the ItalianAntimafia Commission, countered that "We do not find information about the Mafia amongnuns."[8]
Laws have been passed that barpentiti from obtaining substantial benefits unless their revelations are later deemed new material, and lead to concrete results. The State can collect revelations only for six months after the initial intention to collaborate, after which they cannot be used in court.[9] This has reduced the appeal of becoming apentito since a single mafia associate does not know whether his knowledge will be useful to the prosecutors at the time of defection. Defection from the mafia in Italy have subsequently sharply reduced from the height reached in the early nineties, and results in the fight against mafia have reduced[citation needed] accordingly.
il pentito ha un tempo massimo di sei mesi per dire tutto quello che sa, il tempo inizia a decorrere dal momento in cui il pentito dichiara la sua disponibilità a collaborare; [a "pentito" has 6 months to say everything he knows, from the declaration of intent to collabolate;]
