On 25 June 1992, 33 days after the murder of Giovanni Falcone & 24 days before his own murder, Paolo Borsellino made his last dramatic & moving public appearance at Palermo Library, with an intervention that came to be known as "The Days of Judas" [Thread]
If you don't understand Italian, I have translated Borsellino's words (see below). On 25 June he already knew his destiny. He had been informed that explosives to kill him had arrived in Palermo. He had started to 'distance' himself from his children to 'soften' the shock >> 1 
You hear Borsellino mention more than once in his speech that he would have various things to refer to the judicial authorities when they interviewed him on events surrounding Falcone's death, so he couldn't speak about them in public yet. This interview never took place >> 2
The fact that investigators couldn't find time to speak to Falcone's closest friend & colleague in 57 days, even though he had specific information he wanted to pass on is just one of numerous anomalies, both before & after the bomb attack that killed Borsellino >> 3
Anomalies surrounding Borsellino's murder leave us with the doubt it could have been avoided & the certainty it could have been investigated better. There have been four trials for the murders of Borsellino & his 5 police protection officers. The fourth one is still ongoing >> 4
This thread will look at events in 57 days between the deaths of Falcone & Borsellino, those of 19 July 1992, including the disappearance of Borsellino's famous red diary, and the aftermath. For events leading to Falcone's murder see my previous thread:>>5
On 23 May 1992, just after 6 p.m., Paolo Borsellino received a call from a colleague informing him of the bomb attack at Capaci against Giovanni Falcone. He was in a barber's shop in Palermo. He rushed home to tell his family & then on to the hospital with his daughter Lucia >>
At the hospital, he asked for Falcone and was recognised by the doctors, who ushered him to his friend's bedside. His daughter Lucia waited outside the room until, after 15 minutes, he emerged ashen-faced. He hugged Lucia and said, "he died like this, in my arms >> 7
At 9.30 p.m., state broadcaster RAI showed the first pictures from the scene of the attack (this was before the days of 24-hour rolling news). Members of Cosa Nostra in the Ucciardone prison in Palermo celebrated on hearing the news >> 8
At 9 a.m. on Sunday 24 May, the coffins of Giovanni Falcone, Francesca Morvillo, Antonio Montinaro, Rocco Dicillo & Vito Schifani were placed in the courthouse in Palermo for people to pay their respects. Borsellino attended with his colleagues, his wife, son & two daughters >> 9
When representatives of the state arrived, Giovanni Spadolini (acting President, as a new President was being elected), Vincenzo Scotti (Interior Minister) & Claudio Martelli (Justice Minister) the crowds outside hurled abuse at them as they had failed to protect Falcone >> 10
Roberto Scarpinato, a junior colleague of Borsellino, recalled that Borsellino waved his hand towards the coffins saying to him & some other younger judges, "this is the future that awaits us. You are young & have the right to choose whether to stay or not. I have to stay." >> 11
That Sunday afternoon, the day after his lifelong friend had been brutally murdered, after paying his respects to him in the morning & before attending his funeral the next day, Paolo Borsellino went to his office & worked on his investigations >> 12
Monday 25 May 1982, the funeral of Giovanni Falcone, Francesca Morvillo, Antonio Montinaro, Rocco Dicillo & Vito Schifani take place in the church of San Domenico in Palermo. Thousands of people outside hurl abuse & throw coins at political figures arriving for the ceremony >> 13
The colleagues of the three police protection officers, carrying their coffins into the church, tell the politicians in the front rows, "you should be ashamed of yourselves, don't come anywhere near these coffins." >> 14
The memory everybody in Italy has of that funeral is the speech made by Rosaria Costa, wife of Vito Schifani, one of the police officers killed. Addressing those responsible she says, "I forgive you, but you have to go down on your knees." >> 15
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After this speech, colleagues of the dead police officers approached the politicians in the front rows, angrily demanding justice. They had to held back by uniformed police protecting the state representatives, many of whom had expressions of genuine fear on their face >> 16
Despite the tension, the anger, the crush of people, nobody was hurt but the images that Italians saw that day were those of a country in crisis, without direction >> 17
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The journalist Attilio Bolzoni remembers that the last person to leave the church after the funeral was Paolo Borsellino. He later discovered that the reason for this was that Borsellino, a deeply religious man, had been to confession >> 18
Borsellino's son, Manfredi, recalls that, when his father returned home, he was shaken by the scenes of anger he had seen and refused to talk to anybody about the funeral. This was unusual for Borsellino, who was very much a 'family man' >> 19
Unlike Borsellino, Falcone had no children. He & Francesca Morvillo had married in 1987, both being divorced. Enzo Biagi recalled, in an article on the day of the funeral, that he asked if they wanted children & Falcone replied , "you have children, you don't have orphans." >> 20
Also on 25 May, while the funeral was taking place, the Italian Parliament was meeting to try and elect a new President of the Republic. This process had been going on since 13 May, with 15 votes being held, but no candidate had received the necessary majority to be elected >> 21
This uncertainty & institutional void added to the overwhelming sense of instability & lack of direction in the immediate aftemath of Falcone's murder. The shock of this event and the need for unity finally resulted in the election of Oscar Luigi Scalfaro in the 16th ballot >> 22
The only parties that did not vote for Scalfaro were Lega, Rifondazione Comunista & extreme right-wing MSI. Curiously, on 19 May, Guido Lo Porto, an MSI MP & former school friend of Paolo Borsellino, phoned Borsellino to ask if he'd accept their candidature as President >> 23
Borsellino bluntly refused. Nonetheless, 63 MSI parliamentarians voted Borsellino's name as President of the Republic in 11th ballot on 20 May. Borsellino was angry his refusal had been ignored & even lost his temper with Falcone when the latter joked about it on the phone >> 24
On 26 May, interviews with Borsellino were published in Italy's two leading newspapers, 'Repubblica' & 'Corriere della Sera'. In these, Borsellino said that Falcone had been killed not just for what he had done in the past but also for what he could have done in the future >> 25
It was common knowledge by then that Falcone was the leading candidate for the new position as National Anti-mafia Prosecutor. Moreover, Francesca Morvillo, who was an Appeal Court Judge in Palermo had also been appointed to a position in the Ministry of Justice in Rome >> 26
This meant Falcone would be visiting Palermo much less frequently and, although Cosa Nostra could just as easily have killed him in Rome, it was symbolically important to do it in Palermo to demonstrate their control of the territory and their ability to act with impunity >> 27
On 27 May, Borsellino gave another interview, to state broadcaster RAI, again stressing the importance of Falcone's possible appointment as National Anti-mafia Prosecutor, or even as Interior Minister (as some political figures had proposed) as the motive for his murder >> 28
Why was Borsellino, usually a reserved figure, so anxious to talk publicly about Falcone's death. Almost certainly because he was afraid that investigations could languish or take the wrong direction and he knew he would be next on the list of targets, so time was limited >> 29
As if to prove Borsellino's concerns, on the same day Placido Dall'Orto, Public Prosecutor in Caltanissetta, responsible for overseeing investigations involving Judges from Palermo (to avoid conflict of interests) reported a serious shortage of staff & resources >> 30
Caltanissetta had only two Public Prosecutors. All the other positions were vacant and nobody would apply for them because of the high degree of risk and responsibility involved. Dall'Orto said "here, it is much worse than Fort Apache." >> 31
Next day, 28 May, another public appearance for Borsellino & another chance to talk about Falcone, but with an unexpected & unwelcome twist. The occasion is the presentation in Rome of a book on the mafia by sociologist Pino Arlacchi. Afterwards a press conference is held >> 32
Also present are Chief of Police Vincenzo Parisi & Interior Minister Vincenzo Scotti. The previous day, Justice Minister Martelli had suggested that applications for the post of National Antimafia Prosecutor be reopened following Falcone's death >> 33
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Journalist Giovanni Bianconi asked Borsellino whether he would consider applying if there was the chance. Borsellino hesitated and then simply replied, "let them reopen applications", a neutral response. At this point, Interior Minister Scotti interrupted >> 34
Scotti burst out, "of course he'll apply, he will be our candidate." Borsellino said nothing but realised what the Minister had just done; he had made him a mafia target. A few days later, in a conversation with a Carabiniere he said, "they have tossed a bone to the dogs." >> 35
In the days following the Capaci attack, security around Borsellino was tightened. It was already impossibile to park in the vicinity of his flat. Other than the courthouse, the two places he frequented most were the church of Santa Luisa & his mother's flat in via D'Amelio >> 36
Parking restrictions were introduced around the church but, despite repeated requests from Borsellino's protection officers, no restrictions were enforced in via D'Amelio, which was a residential street with large numbers of parked cars >> 37
On 31 May, Borsellino wrote a letter to Interior Minister Scotti informing him that he would not apply for the job of National Antimafia Prosecutor if it was reopened, leaving it to Scotti whether to reveal the contents of the letter. He only did so after Borsellino's death >> 38
On 3 June, Chief Prosecutor in Palermo, Pietro Giammanco, unexpectedly calls Borsellino asking him to fly to the USA the next day to question Tommaso Buscetta & Francesco Marino Mannoia, who were collaborating with authorities, regarding relations between politicians & mafia >>39
Borsellino had requested several times to take part in this mission but Giammanco had always refused previously. Borsellino booked his flight for the following afternoon & hotel, packed his bags and read up on the case >> 40
Next day, 4 June, Borsellino arrived home for lunch and sat down at the table. His wife, surprised, asked, "what are you doing? I thought you were leaving today.""Not any more", he replied. He said nothing else on the matter to explain this last minute change of plan >> 41
Also on 4 June, the 'Consiglio Supremo della Magistratura' rejected reopening applications for the position of National Antimafia Prosecutor. Despite this, many politicians continued to press for the government to issue a decree on this matter, but nothing came of it >> 42
One of Borsellino's colleagues Antonio Ingroia recounts that, on Friday 5 June, they attended a dinner in a restaurant in Terrasini, organised by the Carabinieri. Borsellino was tired and gloomy but his spirits improved during the evening >> 43
When they had finished eating, the restaurant owner came across and whisoered in Borsellino's ear that the cook would like to meet him. A little embarrassed, Borsellino stood up and shook the cook's hand. The cook, an elderly man, burst into tears >> 44
Borsellino put his arm around the cook and they went out into the garden chatting like old friends in Palermo dialect. Afterwards, returning to Palermo in the car, Borsellino recounted that the cook had told him that the honest people of Palermo supported him >> 45
Borsellino told Ingroia it was all he could do to stop himself crying as well, knowing that ordinary people were aware of his plight and backed him. He remembered that dinner as the "cena degli onesti" >> 46
On Sunday 7 June, at a ceremony in Milan commemorating Falcone, one of his colleagues, Giuseppe Ayala, reminded everyone that PM Giulio Andreotti, whose right-hand man in Sicily, Salvo Lima, had been killed by Cosa Nostra on 12 March, had not even attended Falcone's funeral >> 47
On 8 June, Justice Minister Martelli & Interior Minister Scotti announce a government decree toughening the prison regime for mafia inmates and making it unnecessary for witnesses to repeat their testimony in court in multiple related cases >> 48
Also on 8 June, the Prosecutor's office in Caltanissetta is strengthened by the arrival of three new judges from Catania & Messina to assist the only two Prosecutors working there in the investigation into Falcone's murder >> 49
On 9 June, Roberto Scarpinato, a junior colleague of Borsellino, describes the measures introduced by the government as "blood-stained" because, as had happened many times before, measures long under discussion were introduced only after the murder of a prominent figure >> 50
Scarpinato also called for the removal of the Chief of Police in Catania over an incredible delay in providing intelligence that could have prevented the Capaci attack in which Falcone, his wife and police protection officers died >> 51
On Thursday 21 May, the wife of a policeman in Catania was playing around with a device for intercepting mobile phone calls used by her husband. She accidentally intercepted a conversation between two men, speaking in Palermo dialect, in which a bomb attack is discussed >> 52
The men said, "we'll blow him up...on the motorway...that way they'll uunderstand who is in charge...he's coming with his wife..." She told her husband, who immediately notified police HQ in Catania. Checks were made along the Catania-Messina motorway but nothing was found >> 53
Incredibly, the Chief of Police in Catania only notified Palermo of this episode on 24 May, the day after the Capaci attack >> 54
On Saturday 13 June, former President of Italy Francesco Cossiga, less than a month after the end of his term, makes a private visit to Falcone's relatives in Palermo. Before leaving, he has a half hour meeting with Borsellino, which the magistrate notes in his diary >>
On 20 June, during a commemoration of Falcone in Genoa, his colleague Giuseppe Ayala reveals that Falcone kept a diary. Some other colleagues confirm this, others refute it. Investigating magistrates in Caltanissetta found no trace of a diary in Falcone's office, home or bag >>
Falcone's bag, recovered from the car after the bomb attack, only reached investigators on 27 May, 4 days after the attack. The first to examine the contents were Judges Alberto Di Pisa and Giuseppe Pignatone in Palermo. Pignatone was known to clash frequently with Falcone >> 57
Alberto Di Pisa was a highly controversial figure. On 17 June, he was transferred to Messina by the Justice Minister, while subject to suspension without pay pending disciplinary proceedings. He was suspected of being the so called "corvo" (crow) of Palermo courthouse >> 58
The "corvo" was a nickname given to the author of anonymous letters sent to judges in Palermo in 1989, accusing Falcone of organising the return to Palermo of a 'pentito' Salvatore Contorno in order to kill members of the Corleonesi clan >>59
Detailed knowledge of workings of the pool evident in the letters led to the suspicion they were written by a Judge, supported by the fact that police informers called the author the 'corvo' (crow), used in mafia language to refer to judges (because of their black gowns) >> 116
Investigations, including taking of fingerprints surreptitiously, led to identification of Judge Alberto Di Pisa (photo). He was convicted of defamation & sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment. On appeal, however, the fingerprints were held to be spoiled & he was acquitted >> 117
On 23 June, to commemorate one month from the Capaci attack, various demonstrations and events are organised in Palermo. At one of these, in the church of Sant'Ernesto, Borsellino made a speech in memory of his colleague and friend, Giovanni Falcone >> 62
He said that, for Falcone, "the fight against the mafia should not just be about repression, but also a cultural & moral movement, involving everyone, so they get used to the sweet smell of freedom, rather than the stench of moral compromise, indifference...and complicity." >> 63
On 24 June, the newspaper "Sole 24 Ore" published extracts from Giovanni Falcone's diary from late 1990 & early 1991, illustrating how he had been isolated & marginalised by Chief Prosecutor Pietro Giammanco. Falcone gave these extracts to the journalist Liana Milella >> 64
On the same day, 'Repubblica' published an interview with former Head of the Antimafia Pool, Antonino Caponnetto, in which the judge says that, "...Falcone started to die on 18 January 1988 when the CSM appointed Meli ahead of him..." >> 65
25 June 1992 is the day on which the event at Palermo Library took place, with which this thread opened (see above), but it is also important for a highly controversial reason, involving the alleged negotiations between the state & mafia over ending the "strategia stragista" >>66
What happened, or didn't happen, on 25 June 1992, was recounted by Colonel Mario Mori & Capitain Giuseppe De Donno of the Carabinieri on 27 March 1999, when testifying in the third trial regarding Borsellino's murder (which will be dealt with much later in the thread) >> 67
Mario Mori (12 years) & Giuseppe De Donno (8 years) were convicted, along with General Antonio Subranni (12 years), on 20 April 2018, for conducting negotiations between the Italian state & Cosa Nostra. Appeals are pending >> 68
According to Mori & De Donno, on 25 June 1992, Borsellino held a secret meeting with them at the Carini barracks in Palermo concerning an investigation they had conducted into mafia infiltration of public tenders, which had been stalled >> 69
The two officers said that Borsellino asked them to reactivate the investigation and carry it forward but reporting directly to him and keeping Chief Prosecutor Pietro Giammanco in the dark >> 70
