Gaspare "Asparino" Mutolo (5 February 1940–) was an Italian mafioso and pentito (informant) who cooperated with the Government in 1992. His testimony helped uncover mafiosi's ties to politicians and public officials as well as pin down the culprits behind the murders of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino in 1992.
Biography[]
Mutolo was born on 5 February 1940 to an Italian family in the Partanna Mondello neighborhood of Palermo, Sicily. His family was involved with the Mafia, and after dropping out of school, he worked as a mechanic and became involved in a car theft ring. He was arrested for robbery in 1965, being incarcerated in the Ucciardone prison of Palermo, where he shared a cell with Salvatore Riina, whom he got to know very well and built a strong bond with. After their release, Riina rewarded him with a position as his driver and bodyguard, and Mutolo was ultimately inducted into the Partanna Mondello Mafia family in 1973 by Rosario Riccobono, who became his drug trafficking partner. After another prison stretch in the 1970s where he made contacts with Corleonesi clan boss Luciano Leggio and drug traffickers Yasar Avni Mussullulu and Koh Bak Kin, Mutolo built up a a strong and lucrative narcotics network, while also contributing to the transatlantic "Pizza Connection" trail. In 1982, he was arrested on drug charges, and sentenced to 16 years in prison during the Maxi Trial in 1987, but while serving his stint in 1992, he decided to become a cooperator and sat down with prosecuting judge Paolo Borsellino to be debriefed, but Borsellino was killed in a Mafia-ordered bombing a few days after Mutolo decided to come forward. Ultimately, he confessed to 30 murders, to his knowledge about the illicit business dealings of Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti and SISDE deputy director Bruno Contrada, and to the cooperation between the Sicilian and American Mafias.