Buscetta died following a long illness, which is significant because if the Sicilian Mafia had gotten its way, he would have been sleeping with the fishes years ago. In the mid-'80s, Buscetta became the first Mafia boss to squeal on his fellow mobsters, earning him immunity in both Italy and the United States and an automatic death sentence at the hands of La Cosa Nostra. Following damning testimony that resulted in Italy's former prime minister, Giulio Andreotti, being tried for ordering the murder of a journalist, Buscetta was entered into a witness-protection program in the United States, where he lived out his days.
Passage: Tommaso Buscetta, 71
Buscetta died following a long illness, which is significant because if the Sicilian Mafia had gotten its way, he would have been sleeping with the fishes years ago. In the mid-'80s, Buscetta became the first Mafia boss to squeal on his fellow mobsters, earning him immunity in both Italy and the United States and an automatic death sentence at the hands of La Cosa Nostra. Following damning testimony that resulted in Italy's former prime minister, Giulio Andreotti, being tried for ordering the murder of a journalist, Buscetta was entered into a witness-protection program in the United States, where he lived out his days.
