Giuseppe Salvatore Riina, an entrepreneur who tried to get a “Mafia-free” certificate, was arrested for getting involved in the real family business.The 25-year-old Riina, son of infamous “boss of bosses” Tot? Riina, received an early morning wakeup call from Palermo police charging him with Mafia association.

Crimes were classics of the Cosa Nostra trade: extortion, money laundering, drug trafficking and rigging public-works contracts. Among the 21 arrested with Riina were several prominent Palermo businessmen.
Giuseppe (also called Salvo) and his sister Maria Concetta made news recently for advertising an agriculture machinery business on the Corleone city web site. Although the site was ordered shut down by court, the banner is still on the city’s home page. Giuseppe also appealed Italian courts for refusing to give him a “Mafia-free” business certificate. Giuseppe wanted certification that the business was clean from Mafia ties to dispel public suspicion. After a two-year investigation, authorities discovered that operations were, in fact, a front for the family enterprises.
Father Salvatore “Totò” Riina is currently trying to appeal multiple life sentences. He’s serving time for organizing the 1993 bombings of the Uffizi, which killed five and injured 29, as well as the car bombings that same year in Milan and Rome. Older brother Giuseppe has been in jail since 1997 and was condemed to life in 2001 for four murders committed in Corleone.

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Midnight in Sicily
An intoxicating blend of Italian art, crime, food, history and travel, “Midnight in Sicily” is a fascinating account of events leading to the trial of Giulio Andreotti, seven times prime minister of Italy, for the killing of a journalist and for his association with the Sicilian Mafia.

Italy may be a nation founded on work but employers fear passion for World Cup soccer may lead to mass abandonment of the workplace.
Just about anything short of changing the first article of the Italian constitution will be tried to keep workers from cutting out to watch soccer matches.

If the June 2 match, in which Italy trounced World Cup debutante Ecuador broadcast midday in Italy, is any measure it will become increasingly difficult to find anyone at work when the games are on.
An estimated 30,000 rushed to the main square in Milan alone. We spotted mechanics, construction workers, business people and teenagers.
“I just took a late lunch and won’t go back until it’s over,” said security guard Salvatore G.,36, who asked not to publish his last name, standing in front of the maxi-screen in Milan’s piazza Duomo. “I’m not really worried about getting caught — pretty much everyone did the same thing.”
This year because of the time difference between Korea/Japan and Italy most games that see “the blues” (gli azzurri) in action air around breakfast time in Italy.
Workers at Fiat factories will be able to take short “soccer leaves” of a few hours, a solution also chosen by the regional government of Catanzaro. Fanatics will then make up the time after the tournament. In Val D’Aosta, the hours of city offices open to the public will change according to the schedule.
Some try to curb workers skipping out by installing TV sets in the work place — a survey by Milan’s Chamber of Commerce reported that 25% of local companies had set up a World Cup viewing area. Not all employers can let workers take time off, some are taking preventative measures like blocking sports websites and requests for vacation time.
Fortunately for some, the question doesn’t arise. “I really only enjoy the games with a huge crowd like this,” said Silvia Manin, 47, during the Italy-Ecuador match in the piazza. “But I only work part-time so there’s no problem. This time around, I’m World Cup lucky.”