The widows of the mafia Subjected, too, as are their husbands to the law of silence, omerta, these women endure without a word these tragedies that have shaped over the centuries this marginal society that is the mafia. They play a crucial role in its durability by marrying mafia and giving life to future mafia.
One of them stands out particularly: Libertina Manno-Rizzuto. She is one of those "widows of the mafia", victims, in spite of herself, of a bloody war between rival factions who have been fighting over the rackets of the Montreal mafia for five years. These killings caused about twenty victims.
The course of Libertina Manno-Rizzuto is typical of these mafia-born wives and mothers born and raised in a rural mafia governed by secular traditions. Originally from Cattolica Eraclea, a small town in the heart of Sicily, Libertina was the daughter of the village's mafia boss, Antonio Manno, before marrying Nicolo Rizzuto, himself from a mafia family. from father to son, who will settle in Montreal, in 1954, with his wife and two children: Vito and Maria.
Libertina, 87, has undoubtedly been the most troubled since the outbreak of the conflict that decimated her family. In addition to seeing her own murdered husband in front of her, in November 2010, she also lost a son, a grandson and a son-in-law within four years. The same goes for Maria Rizzuto-Renda, daughter of Nicolo senior, whose husband, Paolo, has not been seen since May 2010. This is also the case of Giovanna Cammalleri, the wife of Vito and mother of Nicolo junior, murdered in December 2009, and Eleonora Ragusa-Rizzuto, young widow of Nicolo junior. This is the implacable report that emerges from these endless killings.
Subjected, too, as are their husbands to the law of silence, omerta, these women endure without a word these tragedies that have shaped over the centuries this marginal society that is the mafia. They play a crucial role in the durability of the mafia by marrying men of the mafia and giving life to future mafia. Marriage forever cements these families. These women witnessed the dealings that made or destroyed leaders. They are the guardians of the secrets of their men, victors or vanquished. However, if they started talking, they would make them fall in no time. But faithful as they are to the precepts of the mafia, they will carry with them these enigmas in the depths of their tomb.
