Truth or falsification? The Allies and the mafia on the pages of L’Ora (1958-1963)

Abstract

The article examines the genesis of a historical controversy concerning the relations between the Sicilian-American mafia and the U.S. Army during the Allied landing in Sicily (1943). According to a popular narration by Michele Pantaleone, the mafia allegedly provided military support for the Allies to invade the island. The reporter first published this thesis in the Palermitan newspaper L’Ora, in 1958. In ’63, Felice Chilanti published on the same newspaper the memoirs of Mafia boss Nick Gentile, proposing an interpretation at odds with the one by Pantaleone, accused of falsifying history. The two opposite explanations sparked a dispute that still stands today. This study provides the elements for a historical reconstruction of the debate and its origins.