Italian mob boss renews wedding vows in same church as anti-mafia ‘hero’ memorial
A well-known Sicilian mafia boss was permitted to mark his 25th wedding anniversary in the church where a prominent mafia investigator was laid to rest following his assassination in a car bombing.
Catholic clergy in Palermo were embarrassed by this disclosure and asserted they had no knowledge about Tommaso Lo Presti, a convicted mafioso nicknamed “the glutton,” who was recently released from prison after serving 12 years for various mafia-related crimes, including extortion, drug trafficking, and illegal gambling.
Lo Presti and his wife Teresa Marino, described as “Cosa Nostra’s most renowned couple” by an Italian newspaper, reaffirmed their vows at a grand ceremony in the Church of San Domenico in the historic heart of Palermo on April 15. He donned a dark suit, while Marino wore an elegant white lace dress.
The church is the city’s second most significant basilica after the Palermo cathedral and serves as the final resting place of Giovanni Falcone, a fearless anti-mafia prosecutor who was murdered by the Cosa Nostra in 1992.
In a well-known murder case in Italy, Mr. Falcone was killed by a powerful bomb detonated beneath his car while traveling near Palermo. His wife and three bodyguards were also victims of the attack. Two months later, his colleague Paolo Borsellino, another revered investigator, was also assassinated.
During the vow renewal ceremony, friends and relatives of the mafia couple were just a few feet away from a memorial honoring Mr. Falcone, recognizing him as a “hero in the fight against the mafia.”
Father Sergio Catalano, the church’s rector, expressed surprise about the couple's identity, stating, “How could I have known? It’s not like I can request an anti-mafia certificate from churchgoers. It’s not our responsibility to conduct checks – that falls to state institutions.”
He became aware of their true identities only after the event through news coverage.
The couple left a substantial donation, which the priest mentioned would aid those in need.
Following the vow renewal, they hosted a gathering for friends and family, which ended early due to Lo Presti’s curfew restrictions, requiring him to spend every night at home.
Marino, a mother of five who became a grandmother at 38, was found guilty of overseeing her husband’s criminal enterprises while he was incarcerated.
In 2014, a judge elaborated on Marino's role, stating that during Lo Presti’s imprisonment, she “welcomed prominent mafia members at her residence from the Porta Nuova mafia district [in Palermo], providing them with instructions and strategies on behalf of her husband, and resolving internal conflicts and tensions within the organization.”
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