Chiara Carter
The heat is being turned on alleged Mafia boss Vito Palazzolo, with moves to step up a police investigation and another extradition request expected from the Italian authorities.
Palazzolo, who became a South African citizen in 1995, is on trial in absentia in Italy and was recently listed as a top Mafia figure by the United States FBI.
The furore over Palazzolo’s continued presence in South Africa, despite facing arrest in Italy and the US, is still growing. On October 13 he was the subject of an SABC3 Special Assignment investigation.
While the storm of publicity breaks about him, Palazzolo continues to declare that he is not involved in the Mafia and is the victim of a political smear campaign which originated in Italy.
And through it all, he has maintained his luxurious lifestyle in the Cape, where he owns a farm in scenic Franschhoek.
But his future in South Africa now seems uncertain.
While officials from the Ministry of Justice are advising Italian authorities on the requirements of South African extradition law, the South African Police Service’s investigation into Palazzolo has been prioritised. Additional police have been promised to the presidential task unit, which is handling the inquiry.
The unit is investigating claims that a local chapter of the Mafia has been established in South Africa. It has launched a probe into eight people said to be members of a Mafia family active in Cape Town and Gauteng.
The unit is also evaluating information which alleges Palazzolo has established links with a notorious Cape Town druglord, as well as a man who ran a Cape Town security company. The man is alleged to be involved in protection rackets at nightclubs in the city.
The unit’s intelligence reports list several apartheid-era politicians as well as government officials alleged to be “close associates” of Palazzolo.
Also listed are agents, past and present, from military intelligence and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
Palazzolo’s lawyer, Norman Snitcher, has denied that his client has any links with these people.
Snitcher has also denied Italian police claims that Palazzolo has had telephonic contact with several figures said to be linked to international crime.
Meanwhile the NIA has been conducting its own investigation into Palazzolo.
Palazzolo first entered South Africa on a false passport in December 1986. He was in the process of serving a jail term in Switzerland at the time, but had apparently been temporarily released for Christmas. However, having fled Switzerland, he headed for the Ciskei where he was helped by former National Party MP Peet de Pontes.
Palazzolo acquired Ciskei citizenship, a new name and a string of properties before the Swiss authorities tracked him down more than a year later. He was deported to Switzerland to complete his sentence.
Ten months later he was back in South Africa, where he later married a South African citizen.
His South African permanent residence permit was withdrawn because of irregularities in 1991. He subsequently received permission to enter South Africa for essential visits.
In 1994 he applied for South African citizenship on the basis of his Ciskei citizenship and, after a few hiccups, became a South African.