A Lifelong Quest for Justice: The Story of Vincenzo Agostino

From that cursed August 5, 1989, when mafia killers in Villagrazia di Carini killed his son Nino, a police officer, his daughter-in-law Ida Castelluccio, and the child she was carrying, Vincenzo Agostino had sworn, "I will not shave my beard until I know the truth." And on October 6 last year, after the court of appeals confirmed the life sentence for the boss of Resuttana, Nino Madonia, he said: "I am satisfied because they have condemned the butcher of my son and my daughter-in-law. Satisfied also for my wife, I wished so much that she could be here with me. Now I will remove the inscription on her tombstone, 'died waiting for truth and justice.'" Palermo, assets returned to the former Valtur owner Carmelo Patti: "He had no ties with Messina Denaro." Who was Vincenzo Agostino His wife, Augusta Sicherà, died in February five years ago, Vincenzo Agostino has died today, he was 87 years old. He died with a long beard, waiting for the end of the other trial, the one with the ordinary rite, to have complete justice. His death was met with emotion by the world of institutions and politics, starting with the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, who defined Agostino a "protagonist of a courageous commitment against the mafia." Condolences also came from Ignazio La Russa and Lorenzo Fontana. The Judicial Case The president of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifani spoke of "a symbol of the testimony of anti-mafia, while the mayor of Palermo, Roberto Lagalla, said that "his civil commitment must continue to represent a spur for the institutions and the judiciary to arrive at a complete truth about this murder." For the president of the parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission, Chiara Colosimo, "Vincenzo Agostino's battle will be ours," and messages also came from Italia Viva, Pd, and M5s. For 35 years, Vincenzo Agostino never stopped fighting to obtain truth and justice, bringing his social commitment into schools with his long white beard that commanded respect and shook souls. He continued his battle tirelessly until the last, asking for light to be shed in particular on the misdirections in the investigations into the double murder. A first truth arrived precisely when Madonia was convicted. Agostino had attended all the hearings both of the abbreviated trial to Madonia and those with the ordinary rite against Gaetano Scotto and Francesco Paolo Rizzuto. "The day is approaching when I could shave my beard because the ordinary proceeding is also coming to a conclusion. In case of conviction, that day I will be able to keep the promise I made on my son's grave," he said. Meanwhile, Madonia remains in jail, I hope he now decides to repent and tell everything he knows." That day had not arrived. The court of assizes has yet to pronounce on the responsibilities of the boss Gaetano Scotto. Agostino spent his life meeting students and telling the story of his son murdered in Villagrazia di Carini at his parents' vacation home. Someone in those same hours took away from Nino Agostino's home, in via Altofonte, some notes that were in the closet. And citing this episode, Vincenzo Agostino repeated to the students: "The truth of the death of Nino and Ida is within the State."