[Toto Riina speaking in court] [Music] Salvatore Reena is the most notorious boss of the
Sicilian Mafia known above all others before him for his murderous appetite and doing what was
once the unthinkable going head-to-head not just against his numerous Rivals but battling
directly with the Italian State Kos was built to remain in the shadows but Reena decided to
burn the rule book The Story of tooren is unlike anything we've ever seen Hollywood has yet to even
come close to capturing a story like this one with a bloody trail of bodies to his name he would
take out Rivals as well as his own men no one was safe Reno was a man who held in pathological
drive for power which saw the previously quite decentralized Sicilian Mafia almost completely
centralized under coron's control and while he may have gained notoriety with his actions he
also essentially sealed the fate of the mafia in Sicily Reena would dominate the National Crime
Scene through the 1980s but as his actions became more and more audacious including t-word style
attacks on trains and the taking out of judges and other state figures what he would soon
realize is that he had put himself and the mafia into a corner hailing from the real town
of corleon his character was shaped by a series of truly unfortunate tragedies born into one of
the toughest periods of modern Sicilian history a Miss crushing poverty and bearing witness to the
tragic deaths of his loved ones these would have a great psychological effect on him and while in
no way a redemption or excuse for his catalog of appalling Deeds later in life providing a better
understanding of what made this roughly spoken peasant into the Beast and impose his will in
such a cruel way on Sicily what we're about to witness is the story of the penultimate rise
of the most powerful Mafia the world had ever seen at the same time the tale of how greed and
disregard of the sanctity of Life can drive one mad and ultimately burn down an entire Society
so let's uncover the truly brutal and unforgiving realities behind the story of the most merciless
mafia boss in history Salvatore Toto Reena subscribe for more premium documentaries and join
the only Mafia you should be part of the culture [Music] Mafia Corone a small town set amongst
the beautiful Rolling Hills of Western Sicily its predominantly peasant population had
Longs suffered exploitation at the hands of unscrupulous landowners and Mafia enforcement
practices as far back as the late 1800s there are records describing desperate scenes of poverty
here with peasants left with tiny mounds of grain at Harvest Time pay out from their boss for a
year of hard labor barely enough to feed their families for a month let alone 12 most scratch
to living from Little plots of land they owned alongside the more Choice areas taken already
by wealthier land owners this was the case for salvator's father too Giovani who owned a handful
of Acres which were just enough to provide the basic food needs of his family alongside some
clever bartering which locals practiced amongst themselves it was into this poor but proud peasant
family that Salvatore or Toto as he would become known was born in the year 1930 the eldest of
three sons and two daughters he grew up to the seasonal rhythms of farming life in this little
Sicilian Town despite its proximity to poo which was now an increasingly connected trade Hub
the patterns of life in corleon remain stuck firmly in a feudal past melini's infrastructure
drive through the 1920s had primarily benefited the Italian Mainland and done little to make
inroads into Sicily especially in the more rural parts on the sweltering summer's day of
September 11th 1943 young Toto Reno was returning from a hard day working the family's
Hillside land with his father and two younger brothers in the Sicilian Countryside their
father suddenly stopped the mule as he saw something metallic catch the Sun from a patch of
scrub after parting the foliage he discovered a large US aerial bomb dropped in one of the
many Air Raids on the island ahead of the Allied Landings 2 months prior just as he was
about to turn he then saw another metal casing a short distance away this time it was a German
artillery shell from the period they had occupied this Hillside this was valuable material for an
impoverished peasant family so he instructed the youngest off the mule so he could load the cargo
again loaded onto the mule the procession made its way hurriedly home towards corleon upon getting
back Giovani immediately unloaded his cargo taking it inside there he inspected the larger bomb
thinking it must be worth at least a few days of much needed wages and scrap then moving his
attention to the Shell he noticed it was light and assuming it was already empty of gun gunpowder
he began to try to separate the head from the main body suddenly it slipped from his grasp and
exploded on contact with the hard flagstone floor the room was enveloped in flame and Thick
Smoke the father was dead almost immediately the youngest son also was dead young Reena though
standing not a great distance away miraculously survived without Serious injury watching in slow
motion and with ringing ears as his mother rushed in screaming at this moment this young boy life
would change forever to witness such a brutal scene set amidst what had already been a hard life
was almost too much to bear turning his heart to Stone on that sweltering summer night at that
poor family home a light had been taken from Toto's life he would not see again a normalization
and ability to deal with pain which he would in time turn against others on his journey to become
the most ruthless mafia boss Sicily had known so following the family tragedy of the sudden death
of his father and younger brother it was necessary for Salvatore as the oldest son to become the
sole bread winner for the household at only 13 this catapulted him into adulthood far too young
so it was that he took over the management of his father's land for the next few years in his
daily work he was able to observe the power of the wealthy landowners who paraded around
their Estates like kings he knew like others of his class that so much as a mistimed look from
a peasant could result in a beating or even death at the hands of their protective team of enforcers
these were hard years where he could never forget his lowly position in life during this time
though he would also Forge key lifelong bonds including that with an influential figure himself
in the Sicilian Mafia Bernardo provenzano another child of extreme poverty he lived nearby and
Reno would see him trudging up the hill outside Corleone with his father every day to tend to
the land they were paid to work however after a few years tending to the land Reena started to
frequent it less delegating some of the duties to younger siblings now he would spend more time
around the main square of Corleone Patza garabaldi observing the goings on passing Men of Honor
and their Customs importantly also making his presence known to the individuals of influence
around the town despite being small in stature and somewhat introverted was learning the value of
presence consistency and composure in these years all traits highly valued by the mafia these were
the years of Dr mckel navara's reign as the dawn of Corone an interesting character from a middle
class background and a qualified doctor by trade he cut quite the figure for a powerful mafia
boss coming up in the post-war and bountiful reconstruction years by the late 1940s he had
established his rule over Corleone in tandem with his medical profession maintained as a front
he ruled calculatingly over his interests however whilst more than capable of taking out enemies
he was also an Old Guard type harking back to the traditions of figures like donvito copero and turn
of the century Mafia men impeccably dressed he would parade around town greeted by subjects his
ring kissed many hundreds of times on such a visit molded by the mafia culture and practice of the
pre-war years he avoided the kinds of audacious and tension bringing violence which Reena would
later indulge in yet his days were numbered in Corleone as there was a new generation On The
Rise gradually through his time at the square and building of networks Reena became known to luchano
legio a notorious cattle rusher On The Rise who now had the protection of Corleone's new boss
and therefore essential immunity for his criminal Endeavors by around the late 1940s Reena was now
visiting the barber shop wor legio and Navaro an unofficial associate knowing to be silent in
the back yet nonetheless part of the group however this too would change as boss Navara expanded his
recruitment to build a gang of young Bloods who could operate for him in the area this included
Reena childhood friend provano as well as the already established rustler Lego livestock theft
illegal Butchery and score settling were the main practices and they proved quite profitable for
their boss May 194 49 though would see reena's first major brush with the law his gang had a
fight with a group of cousins behind the town which escalated and ended with Reena taking out
his pistol and discharging multiple rounds he struck one of the cousins resulting in his death
tried and sentenced to 12 years for the murder he would only end up serving six before being out on
probation and back in corleon in 1955 a returning hero to reunite with his old pisan activities
continued as before for the few years but Reena and Associates especially the leader of the group
legio were getting that inevitable Hunger for More power they were no longer content as navara's
Runners and thugs by 1958 the situation between navara's Old Guard and the new Young faction
led by Lego had come to a head too many shows of Disobedience had been committed and the doctor
felt forced to act so he organized a hit on legio however it was executed clumsily allowing legio
to escape with only minor injuries now legio orchestrated his own hit and response with
reliable Toto as one of the shooters in early August 1958 Navara was taken out while driving a
hilly road with a fellow doctor his corpse strewn with 92 rounds was found in the bullet ridden car
by police the following day the police estimated there have to been five Shooters two using
submachine guns and three using pistols an audacious attack that shocked authorities for its
intensity the well executed power play left the path open for legio to assume the leadership he
craved it also placed Reena in a strong position as both a loyal Soldier to legio and having
so recently demonstrated his value in the hit with legio now primed to take leadership of
the coron nessi in 1958 things looked promising for Reena he was alongside those he had grown
up with and built strong bonds and they managed to remove the Old Guard from Power however
in their eyes there was still cleaning up to do and the following years were characterized
by brutal reprisals against anyone they deemed close to Navaro this often involved lurring
out enemies with the offer of peace talks only to take them out in a hit at that meeting
here heeding mavi's advice with his ability to not only recognize traps with the cunning of
the fox but to set them too without remorse during this period legio pioneered a strategy
free of rules or restraint as seen with these Murders At supposed conciliation meetings Reena
was his right-hand man and they were taking out mafia members with an intensity that shook
even old hands earing a reputation as ruthless enforcers lauram a sicilian newspaper had decided
to boldly publish an investigation into this new gang terrorizing Corleone and taking out its
men during this time alongside a picture and description of legio as a cross between an old
mafioso and a modern gangster was information of his suspected lieutenants Reena and provano both
were described as peasants which is an interesting nod to the persistent social class structure
and lens through which many Italian and Society still viewed the world with membership of the
mafia ultimately being a way for men like these to escape this lowly position 3 days after the
publication of this bold report laora newspaper printing presses were by mere coincidence I'm
sure destroyed with a large amount of dynamite the message came through very loud but clear
the corones were here to stay and would stop at nothing their tactics were new and would
only escalate this was something Sicily had not seen before following their mopping up of
perceived enemies the leadership unquestionably fell to Lego Corleone had a new dawn and
decisions were now Theirs to make this power was no doubt addictive and a new thrill after
years of operating under the orders of Elders Reena continued as Lego's enforcer carrying out
hits kidnappings as well as other acts of violence he was known for his Steady Hand and cold ability
to pull the trigger which made him increasingly valuable in dangerous times as he gained more
responsibility through these years he became instrumental in decisions too working with liio at
a strategic level and learning the skills he would this spike in violence following the removal
of Navara would become known as the first Mafia war and lay the groundwork for a spiral of
conflict which would only increase under reena's leadership with largely only Mafia men affected
it nonetheless saw the deaths of more than 50 individuals in the corones attempt to remove
all traces of navara's allies it would come to a climax in 1963 with seven Italian policemen
taken out while attempting to diffuse a car bomb meant for a mafiosi this large scale hit of
a state Target whilst not intentional would be an omen of things to come as the Corleone
controlled Mafia would increasingly take a more confrontational approach with the state in Trina's
Reign so while blood would stain Sicilian streets through this period no clear Victor emerged the
first Mafia War left the decentralized family model running with many different centers of
competing power continuing to exist well while the corleonesi clan was powerful in this period they
were not yet dominant a reality Reena was Keen to change in the wake of the chakuli bombing which
had generated great anger amongst the Italian population there were Mass arrests of Mafia men
across Sicily included in this sweep was tooren apprehended under an alias in December 1963 he
was taken for interrogation where he eventually admitted aded his true identity he would spend
the next years in Ardon prison awaiting trial along with a host of Mafia Prisoners the prison
system was notoriously corrupt so big bosses had their lobster and champagne on tap as well as a
variety of other luxury items yeah that's right they were living better than what we saw in Good
Fellas in real life Reena kept mostly to himself but by now his reputation preceded him all knew
of the Fearsome reign of terror he and legio had imposed on the years following navara's removal
over the years he became increasingly respected within the mafia prison community and eventually
sought after cues are said to have formed in the prison yard with inmates waiting to speak with
him or seek counsel on a specific issue this period was important in molding him further into
the dawn he would become his reputation had been confirmed among the movers and shakers of the
organization throughout Sicily finally tried along with legio in 1969 he was acquitted in what
amounted to to a sham trial following his release he quickly eloped as a new murder charge came up
despite his status now as a fugitive the general climate of anti-mafia resentment in Sicily had
died down since the time of the chakuli bombing soena immediately sought to resume activities
and the first order of business was a hit on a wayward Mafia Associated businessman deemed a
liability by Family heads following taking care of this matter Reno went into hiding attempting to
stay off police radar but as the 1970s progressed the net was tightening around legio reena's boss
already sought for the murder of Navara in 1958 the police were increasingly persistent and with
Lego's more flamboyant Behavior he left a bigger Trail to follow finally in 1974 legio was arrested
in Milan where he had relocated for treatment of a spinal problem which had blighted him since
youth while it's unclear exactly how long legio continued his rule from behind bars at some point
in the next few years Reena took over and assumed full responsibility interestingly this wasn't
a leadership coup or rivalry boiling over seen so many times in both the Sicilian and US
Mafia but instead a fairly well organized and smooth transition they were Associates
since youth and legio had been unofficially mentoring Reena for this role so while both were
very violent characters and Reena in particular not afraid of chaos the transition was quite
peaceful something incredibly rare in that World in a series of events showing an interesting
relationship between the Sicilian and US Mafia a key American Dawn by the name of Joseph bonano
had come to his homeland of Sicily for a holiday back in 1957 there for leisure naturally business
was also on the agenda more specifically that of heroin discussed in meetings over 4 days held at
Poo's Grand hotel de palom key players fleshed out details of this potential collaboration the
US W Mafia had recently lost their foothold in Cuba due to CH and Fidel's communist takeover
of the island and were looking to make Sicily their new trafficking Outpost here the product
would arrive be processed by Sicilian Mafia men before being sent on to the US and Europe
this activity in the heroin trade would go on to become a Cornerstone of reena's rule and a key
method for obtaining funds there was also another crucial outcome that was the formation of a
sicilian commission known as the KOA meaning Dome it would represent Sicilian Mafia Family heads
with a governing Council where key decisions would be made collectively prior to his arrest
legio and Reena had been working on expanding the coron nessi's influence within the commission
while they may not have been the most politically well-connected or wealthy family they were
quickly becoming the most powerful internally within the mafia's own structure just in terms
of force Reena continued this work during the early years of his rule consolidating their power
over decision-making bodies and biting time until the next power move could be made this new move
was initiated by Reena in 1981 and would become known as the second Mafia War truly one of the
bloodiest of modern Sicilian history the aim was total control for the corones and the wiping out
of anyone standing in the way of this objective for an organization that was traditionally
decentralized with different family power centers this Vision was a dramatic departure from the past
and one that would take the mafia into Uncharted Territory driving in his new Alpha Romeo back
from his own birthday party mafia boss Stefano bontate shot dead with a variety of weapons while
at traffic lights the lethal Arsenal included two newly acquired AK-47s marking the first time
they would be used by the mafia in palmo less than 3 weeks later another Dawn this time it was
salvator and zaro who was shot dead outside his Lover's house just as he was ironically about to
enter his newly received bulletproof Alpha Romeo with them the leadership of a rival faction gone
in the next months over 200 men from this bontate inaro group were taken out these were huge numbers
of dead and reena's appetite didn't just end with Sicily he also ordered all fleeing him to American
Shores to be eliminated this eventually included ino's brother found dead in New jersey with dollar
bills stuffed in his mouth after he felt satisfied that external enemies had been dealt with and that
Corleone control now extended almost throughout Sicily he turned his attention inwards in an
increasingly paranoid Drive similar to Stalin's Great Purge of Military Officers he began wiping
out those deemed not loyal enough even some of his own shooters from earlier hits of the mafia War a
few years prior were removed the tactics employed by Reena in this period were the culmination
of a brutal strategy in development for over 20 years the foundations of which were being laid
by himself and legio with their high-intensity removal of Navara in 1958 a level of shock and
awe violence which was unknown even for Mafia riddled Society all had led to this point now with
Reena essentially imposing himself as a tyrannical dictator the new Caesar overseeing his centralized
crime Empire through constant threat of violence but just as many tyrannical figures before
him can he stop before flying too close to the Sun as the 1980s progressed Reno was increasingly
including figures from the state in his attacks this included pior a leader of a large political
party in Italy who was attempting to introduce a new anti-mafia law he was taken out while
driving in 1982 the following month a well respect Ed police general sent down to quell the
violence was himself taken out similarly in his vehicle with his wife and bodyguard amongst the
dead these extremely provocative actions by the cor onessi were building ammunition for a state
response however the audacity would only increase in the coming years as the Flames of lawlessness
and Chaos were beginning to engulf Sicily fate intervened two key new judges had been appointed
to the Sicilian Mafia issue Giovanni Falcone and Polo Bolino as the Stak soared higher their
appointment promised a new chapter in this battle against the mafia Falcone in particular
was leading the charge and was a highly respected and capable figure a true warrior of the cause of
maintaining the Integrity of the Italian State his commitment was unquestioned and he was viewed as
Incorruptible at this time he also received a new weapon in his own legal Arsenal a mafia turncoat
named Tomaso busetta who through fear of death at reena's hands had agreed to collaborate with the
state through his evidence the mafia's overall structure was revealed including the existence
of the commission which ruled over affairs from a legal perspective this was extremely significant
as it essentially implicated all family heads in criminal activity below them with a direct line
of culpability back to the centralized ruling commission a deadly blow to reena's Empire this
increase in heat was being felt by Reena and the large upcoming State Maxi trials against the mafia
loomed large despite all his remorseless violence for Domination during the preceding Mafia War the
state was now making it increasingly difficult to operate and enjoy this new found position Reena
then in a characteristic high intensity style decided to broaden his war against the state
instead of turning the temperature down he was going to double down and not only continue
but surpass any of his previous transgression RS he would carry out an attack so indecent yet
with perpetrators mysterious that the Italian state would be forced to divert resources away
from the mafia towards this apparent terrorist crime it would be on December 23rd 1984 that a
bomb he ordered exploded on train 9004 killing 17 and wounding 267 all of whom were innocent and
unrelated bystanders with no relation to the mafia while the state did initially attribute the attack
to terrorist rather than Mafia activity it didn't achieve reena's aim of drawing resources away from
their Mafia investigation the Maxi trials went ahead in spite of the train bombing it lasted
from 1986 through to 1992 and was the largest state trial in history a total of 474 defendants
were facing charges for a variety of high-profile and murderous crimes spanning decades 332 Mafia
men would end up getting sentenced to a total of 2,665 years including a number of highlevel
bosses who were given life sentences this wasn't the usual slap on the wrist for the higher ups
with a foot soldier taking the wrap but rather a full-scale state assault on the mafia not
seen before far broader with more defendant and evidence than even melini's action of the
1920s Reena himself was also sentenced in absentia to life the increasingly frantic game of cat and
mouse continued through the late 1980s the state was becoming Relentless and clearly not going to
let the issue pass as it had in previous decades Reena had pushed things too far and left too many
dead whether this sense of entrapment fit into his already at times unstable psychology is unclear
however his strategies became increasingly more unhinged what followed was one of the most
extreme and well-prepared Mafia operations in history by 1992 he had settled on taking
out the top judges themselves going to the source of the issue as he saw it through
meticulous preparation a bomb was placed in a drainage Channel by the motorway it was
known Falcone would be passing along 400 kg of high explosives with a remote Detonator manned
by a team looking down from a vantage point a parked car on the side of the motorway acting
as a marker guide for detonation the explosion was brutal forcing the asphalt up in a huge wave
that sent the vehicle of Falcone's bodyguards flying off into an adjacent Olive Grove Falcone
and his wife in the car behind died in the crash moments following the detonation the hit
was a success and Falcone was dead however it would not bring the type of respit from police
attention Reena sought in fact along with fellow judge borino's killing a short while later
it was the final straw for the Italian state whether they were pushed by the unheard levels
of public anger Across the Nation or the daily International headline shining a glaring
light on the dysfunction in Sicily act they [Music] did within a year Reno was arrested strangely
at his Villa in poo the surrounding Community still in too much fear of Retribution from the
corleonesi to share his location with the police Toto was finally off the streets after more
than 20 years on the run and Too Many Bodies behind him to count he held his cool and somewhat
detached composure through questioning and trial unless asked about turncoats and traitors who he
seeed at through gritted teeth during exchanges with reporters it was also clear he objected to
the image of the Beast being cultivated in the national press feeling it was unfair here was
this remorseless killer who had cut short so many lives put out by his characterization as a
murderer he likely saw himself more in the vein of Robinhood the mafia of old Distributing their
loot taken from feudal landowners amongst fellow peasants however this wasn't who Reena was even
the few who emphasized or benefited from his rule were no longer buying it he had taken the mafia
on a journey far removed from its traditional practices concerning violence and the distribution
of power between families in pursuing his highly audacious strategy of taking his violent methods
directly to the state Reena gained notoriety maybe more than all before him but he also sealed his
organization's fate a tale of hubris clouding strategic thinking Alone by centralizing
the mafia so much under the corleonesi control he was removing one of its key strengths
its somewhat decentralized power base like a multi-headed serpent in the past the Italian
State could occasionally slash a head down but enough others existed to maintain operations and
fill the void however Reena had given the state one Target and with its removal the whole house of
cards could fall in never before had the secretive world of kostra had been so Brazen after the
highly performative trial and protestations of his honest character as the humble peasant from
Corleone he was sentenced in 1993 to 26 life sentences $125 million worth of his assets were
also seized illustrating his extraordinary level of wealth forced to watch without real power
as the family he had so long worked to build up struggled under continuous State pressure
a shadow of its former self while he may have entertained dreams of a success ful appeal and a
return to his place as head of the family it never occurred Reena died in 2017 a cold and
calculating man who had led the Sicilian Mafia far from its founding practices and
sacrificed its fate as well as the lives of countless for the sake of his own ego born
unknown into poverty he would die in infamy known worldwide as a remorseless killer and
a fearsome Lobster following Reena would be a period of governance with power held between
provano and Bella after Provenzano's death in 2016 the leadership eventually fell to Mato mesina
dinaro born in 1962 and of a completely different generation toena who himself was already not
of the old ways dinaro would have to operate in a challenging environment he was a fugitive
for the entire period and with continued State attention following reena's reign of terror
the police were Relentless in their search for him for the next 7 years he would lead
the organization through a world the Don of old would have hardly recognized doing deals
with foreign cartels in the global drugs market and seeking even more creative ways to generate
funds becoming one of the wealthiest Mafia [Music] leaders but now I know a lot of you are waiting
for this and are curious how we're going to do it for this absolute psychopath so let's get
into into it what possible lessons can we extract from this well quite a lot actually
the thing I want to focus on is greed that unquenchable thirst for constantly wanting more
and more keep in mind that greed and ambition are often conflated while they can be related
it's important to know the distinction between them let's focus on ambition now this has to be
quite nuanced because some people misinterpret it and think that having any level of ambition
is somehow evil or inherently unethical which could not be further from the truth no one
in human history has ever achieved something impactful without a certain level of ambition
with that being said it is a double-edged sword as you probably know often times ambition is
the Catalyst that gains success but sooner or later it turns into greed and add to it
a large amount of arrogance you rely on past successes to gauge your capabilities
which although relevant don't guarantee the ability to surpass certain thresholds after
all as the 48 Laws of Power correctly point out there's nothing more intoxicating than a victory
at the same time nothing more dangerous understand in the realm of power you must be guided by reason
to let a momentary thrill or an emotional Victory influence you or guide your moves will prove fatal
when you attain success step back be cautious when you gain Victory understand the part played by the
particular circumstances of a situation and never simply repeat the same actions again and again
history is lit Ed with the ruins of Victorious Empires and the corpses of leaders who could not
learn to stop and consolidate their gains time and time again history Witnesses the fall of great
Empires and powerful men all because they did not learn when to stop the lesson is simple
the powerful vary their rhythms and patterns change course adapt to circumstances and learn to
improvise rather than letting their dancing feet impel them forward they step back and look where
they're going it's as if their bloodstream bore a kind of antidote to the intoxication of Victory
letting them control their emotions and come to a kind of mental halt when they've attained success
they steady themselves give themselves the space to reflect on what's happened examine the role
of circumstance and luck in their success as they say in riding school you have to be able
to control yourself before you can control the horse success messes with your head it makes you
feel Untouchable but also makes you more defensive and emotional when people question your power it
hampers your ability to adjust to new situations you start thinking it's your personality not your
planning that's responsible for your success this is something you and I need to keep in mind
if you're part of the culture Mafia chances are you're quite an ambitious person capable of
achieving great things soon you'll be confronted with this test so make sure you're ready for it
as Napoleon once said the greatest danger occurs at the moment of victory I hope you enjoyed this
documentary it was really interesting to make but with countless hours put into it it was no easy
task if you enjoyed this one make sure to like the video to let us know comment this below so we know
that you made it to the end but now stay tuned for the biggest and most ambitious episode we've ever
attempted this one has been years in the making no literally and let's just say we took things
to a whole new level with this one stay tuned