Decline and Death
Giuliano continued to work against socialist groups whenever he had the opportunity but by 1948 his popular support was ebbing. Locals and even the Mafia were less willing to aid him and helped the police, despite his tendency to kill suspected informers. Giuliano dared police by sending them boisterous letters about himself and dining in Palermo restaurants and leaving a note about his presence with a tip. The reward for his capture was doubled, and a special police force was instituted to suppress banditry. 300 carabinieri attacked his mountain stronghold, but most of his gang escaped. On August 14, 1949 Giuliano's men exploded mines under a convoy of police vehicles near the Bellolampo barracks outside Palermo, killing seven Carabinieri and wounding 11. As a result, the Italian government dispatched an additional 1000 troops to Western Sicily, with all troops under the command of Colonel Ugo Luca.
On July 5, 1950, Giuliano was shot in Castelvetrano. According to police, carabinieri captain Antonio Perenze shot him as he was resisting arrest. However, the investigative reporter Tommaso Besozzi from the weekly news magazine L'Europeo soon exposed the official version as fiction; the headline read: "The only thing certain is that he is dead". Gaspare Pisciotta, Giuliano's lieutenant, claimed later that police had promised him a pardon and reward if he would kill Giuliano. Giuliano's mother Maria reportedly believed this story. Pisciotta died four years later in prison from poisoning, after ingesting 20 centigrams (200mg) of strychnine, hidden in a cup of tea.
At the trial for the Portella della Ginestra massacre, Gaspare Pisciotta had said: "Those who have made promises to us are called Bernardo Mattarella, Prince Alliata, the monarchist MP Marchesano and also Signor Scelba, Minister for Home Affairs … it was Marchesano, Prince Alliata and Bernardo Mattarella who ordered the massacre of Portella di Ginestra. Before the massacre they met Giuliano…" However the MPs Mattarella, Alliata and Marchesano were declared innocent by the Court of Appeal of Palermo, at a trial which dealt with their alleged role in the event.
Read more about this topic: Salvatore Giuliano
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