of the emotional stress of his imprisonment. Important pentiti of the Sicilian Mafia Leonardo Vitale (1941–1984) was the first to become a pentito in 1973, although originally his confessions were not taken seriously. Tommaso Buscetta (1928–2000) was the first high-profile pentito against the Sicilian Mafia. He started to collaborate with the anti-Mafia prosecutor Giovanni Falcone in 1984. His testimony was of crucial importance in the landmark Maxi Trial of 1986–87. Salvatore Contorno (born 1946) started to collaborate in October 1984, following the example of Buscetta. Leonardo Messina (born 1955), member of the San Cataldo clan, who became an informant in 1992. He was the greater accuser of Giulio Andreotti. Antonino Giuffrè (born 1945), boss of Caccamo and member of Corleonesi, turned informant in 2002, after his arrest. Antonino Calderone (1935–2013) started to collaborate in April 1987. Francesco Marino Mannoia (born 1951) started to collaborate in October 1989 because his brother had been murdered. He was the first pentito who used to belong to the winning faction of the Second Mafia War (1981–83). Giovanni Brusca (born 1957), the murderer of anti-Mafia prosecutor Falcone, began to collaborate in 1996. Santino Di Matteo (born 1954), became an informant in 1993 after his arrest; offered information relating to the Capaci bombing, for this reason his son Giuseppe was kidnapped, murdered and dissolved in acid. Salvatore Cancemi (1942–2011), another of Falcone's assassins, turned himself to the Carabinieri in July 1993 and immediately began collaborating. Giuseppe Marchese (1963), Filippo Marchese's nephew and who became an informant in 1992. Gaspare Mutolo (born 1940), started to collaborate in prison in May 1992 and was the first mafioso who spoke about the connections between the Cosa Nostra and Italian politicians. Other important pentiti Pasquale Barra (1942–2015), the first pentito and high-ranking member of Raffaele Cutolo's Nuova Camorra Organizzata. Pasquale Galasso (born 1955), former high-ranking member of the Nuova Famiglia faction of the Camorra. Carmine Alfieri (born 1943), former Boss of Bosses of the Nuova Famiglia. Carmine Schiavone (1943–2015), former high-ranking member of the Casalesi clan. Maurizio Abbatino, former boss of the Banda della Magliana. Felice Maniero (born 1954), former boss of the Mala del Brenta. Cultural acceptance In some southern Italian communities, the Mafia has a significant presence, and in these areas becoming a pentito is tantamount to a death sentence. Indeed, the Mafia family of Totò Riina based in the town of Corleone habitually extended the death sentence