18 people wounded including Li Causi and Pantaleone. Six months later Vizzini acquired the lease for the Miccichè estate. Antimafia journalist Pantaleone would move on to become a prominent Antimafia politician and journalist. He was elected as regional deputy in the Sicilian parliament in 1947-1951 and again in 1967-1971 as an independent candidate on the list of the Italian Communist Party (Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI). He worked for L'Ora an independent left wing newspaper in Palermo close to the PCI. Other contributors were the writer Leonardo Sciascia and Mauro De Mauro, who mysteriously disappeared in 1970. He published several books about the Mafia in the 1960s and acquired a small but dedicated audience. Pantaleone was one of the first to shed light on the links between Cosa Nostra and the Christian Democrat party (DC – Democrazia Cristiana). His articles and books caused several libel court cases by DC-politicians such as Bernardo Mattarella and Giovanni Gioia. Pantaleone was sentenced to eight months and ten days in prison and to pay court costs' for aggravated defamation in the press of Mattarella. His strong views made him a controversial person also among his supporters, such as the communist mayor of Villalba, Luigi Lumia. Pantaleone died in Palermo, in his nineties. "He was the first one to provide the Italian public opinion with a lot of material on organized crime," said Italian journalist, Saverio Lodato, who covers the Mafia. "Thanks to his work, the Mafia became a national issue." Pantaleone appeared in films about the Mafia, such as Il sasso in bocca (1969), directed by Giuseppe Ferrara and Il caso Mattei (The Mattei Affair) (1972), directed by Francesco Rosi. Luciano legend Pantaleone is seen as the source of the legend about the role of Lucky Luciano in the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. According to his version published in "Mafia e politica 1943-1962" a US Army airplane had flown over Villalba on the day of the invasion and dropped a yellow silk foulard (scarf) marked with a black L (indicating Luciano). Two days later, three American tanks rolled into Villalba after driving thirty miles through enemy territory. Mafia boss Calogero Vizzini climbed aboard and spent the next six days travelling through western Sicily organizing support for the advancing American troops. The Mafia protected the roads from snipers, arranged enthusiastic welcomes for the advancing troops, and provided guides through the confusing mountain terrain. Most