Sicilian mafia treasurer

Vito Palazzolo was said to be the treasurer for the Sicilian mafia during their golden era financially. Are there estimates on just how much money he handled for them? He evaded the police for most of his life and has denied any association with the Riina, Provenzano and any other mafiosi.

He's a billionaire also married to a wealthy heiress of Russian origin. Over the years Vito Roberto Palazzolo had contacts and became friends with very important personalities from politics and business. In SA, Palazzolo has enjoyed total impunity thanks to his closeness to both the National Party and the African National Congress, he organized parties in his home that were attended by police chiefs and the mayor of Cape Town.

I recently read he's a major player in the defense industry/arms to various African regimes.

Was he actually apart of the Riina regime or was that only speculation?

He always denied, but according to the pentiti Francesco Di Carlo, Salvatore Cancemi, Giovanni Brusca and Antonino Giuffrè, Palazzolo is a member of Cosa Nostra in the Mafia family of Partinico. Don't forget he left Sicily in 1962 at the age of 15 and emigrated to Switzerland. Later Italian police claimed that Palazzolo was believed to lead a mafia family in South Africa.

Do people believe that he is still active? And if he spent most of his life in Switzerland, why would the Partinico family induct him as a made man? I did not know that he was that active with a mafia family of his own in South Africa.

We have to see if he will get back as a 'banker' his probation time ended recently, but his worries are not over Italian authorities are after his wealth.

Where have you seen estimates of him being a billionaire?

He doesn't have it in his own name some major assets are managed by his family, but they rather use legitimate people like Riccardo Agusta, who was a billionaire. Count Riccardo Agusta was a Italian helicopter company heir and a top investor in South Africa. He was also a race car driver he died in 2018.

Do you think that he still has strong ties to the mafia or do you think he’s distanced himself from them? I don’t see any evidence of him being taped or photographed with any mafioso as of recent.