Minore Mafia clan
The Minore Mafia clan was a historical Sicilian Mafia clan originating from the city of Castellammare del Golfo on Sicily's west coast. It was probably founded sometime at the start of the 20th century, it later came to control the city of Trapani and held considerable influence throughout the entire province, and also in Palermo and Catania. They historically maintained good relations with the Buccellato Mafia clan, which also hailed from Castellammare del Golfo. History and notable members The first recorded mention of the clan is from the 1910s, when Salvatore Minore, nicknamed "Don Totò", was named as a powerful mafioso in the city. Minore's sister Elisabetta married Salvatore Maranzano, who would later emigrate to the United States and become an important figure within the American Mafia. The best known members of the clan, however, are the Minore brothers and cousins who took control of the city of Trapani in the 1950s, taking over from Andrea Fazio. The boss thus became Antonio Salvatore Minore, commonly known as Totò Minore, who controlled the city and held great sway over the province together with his brothers Giovanni, Calogero, Giuseppe and Giacomo. Totò Minore, who was already well known to law enforcement and was banished as part of the "soggiorno obbligato" measure to the island of Ustica in 1948 for five years. Calogero Minore was considered the peacemaker of the family for his ability to mediate disputes in the region, and was tied to Mazara boss Leonardo Bonafede. The Minore clan went on to form a very strong alliance with the Buccellato Mafia clan, which like the Minores hailed from Castellammare del Golfo, and eventually came to control that city. Totò Minore was one of the mafiosi present at the 1957 Palermo Mafia summit with American crime boss Joe Bonanno. In 1966, Totò Minore emigrated to the United States and linked up to the Gambino family, opening up a series of pizzerias that were used as a front for narcotics trafficking. He also traveled to Libya, Brazil (where he owned a hotel) and Argentina (once with future Mafia pentito Tommaso Buscetta), and was involved in a large money laundering operation in mainland Italy and in the province of Trapani itself. Totò Minore developed very close ties to the province of Catania. In 1960, he was the godfather at the baptism of the son of Giuseppe Calderone, the Mafia boss of Catania. Minore was also in business relations with Carmelo Costanzo, dubbed one of "the four horsemen of the Mafia apocalypse" by journalist Pippo Fava. According to pentito Antonino Calderone, Minore was a family friend of Carmelo Costanzo and his other relatives, and some "men of honor" who were forced to leave the province of Trapani due to police attention were employed at the Costanzo facilities under Minore's direction. Both Totò and Calogero Minore came to own two hundred hectares of land each near Trapani, which were frequently used for Mafia summits and hiding fugitives, and they owned many businesses in and around the