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Disappearance of Mauro De Mauro

UNSOLVED1970Palermo, Sicily, Italy3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
File:Mauro de mauro 2.jpg
File:Mauro de mauro 2.jpg — Credit: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain

Mauro De Mauro was an Italian investigative journalist for the Palermo newspaper L'Ora, known for reporting that exposed ties between organized crime and public officials in Sicily. In 1962 he published one of the first detailed maps of the Sicilian Mafia's structure, later corroborated by Mafia informant Tommaso Buscetta, and republished a 1937 Mafia member's testimony that had gone largely unnoticed for decades. His reporting made him a marked figure within the Mafia; colleagues said the organization held off acting against him because his death would have drawn unwanted attention.

In 1970, De Mauro renewed an earlier investigation into the 1962 plane-crash death of Enrico Mattei, president of the Italian state energy company Eni, at the request of film director Francesco Rosi, who was preparing a film about Mattei. De Mauro told colleagues he had found 'a scoop that is going to shake Italy' and had come to believe Mattei's aircraft had been sabotaged. Two days before he vanished, he interviewed Graziano Verzotto, a former Eni public-relations official who had been aboard Mattei's plane the day before it crashed.

On the evening of 16 September 1970, De Mauro was abducted outside his home on via delle Magnolie in Palermo. A large-scale search involving police, Carabinieri, helicopters and dogs failed to locate him, and his body has never been recovered. Carabinieri investigators including Colonel Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa pursued a theory that De Mauro had been killed after uncovering a Sicily-United States drug-trafficking network, while police inspector Boris Giuliano focused on his Mattei reporting after finding that notes and a tape had disappeared from De Mauro's office. Giuliano stated publicly that officials in Rome did not want the investigation to reach its conclusion.

Mafia informants who came forward in later decades gave competing, sometimes overlapping accounts. In May 1994, Buscetta stated that the Sicilian Mafia had killed Mattei on the American Mafia's behalf and had abducted De Mauro to stop him from publishing what he had learned. Other Mafia informants linked the killing instead to De Mauro's own wartime connections, saying he had learned of the 1970 Golpe Borghese coup plot through his fascist-era ties. This new testimony led Italian authorities to reopen the case in 2001.

In April 2006, Sicilian Mafia boss Salvatore Riina stood trial at the Court of Palermo as the sole surviving defendant in De Mauro's killing. Prosecutor Antonio Ingroia argued in his 2011 closing statement that De Mauro was killed both to protect Mafia secrets about Mattei's death and to prevent exposure of the Borghese coup plot. On 10 June 2011, the court acquitted Riina for insufficient evidence; De Mauro's daughter, Franca, said afterward that the family still had 'no answer about what happened that day.' The Palermo Appeal Court upheld the acquittal in January 2014, and Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation issued a final absolution in June 2015. No one has ever been convicted in connection with De Mauro's disappearance, and his body has never been found.

Key facts

Victims
Mauro De Mauro
Date
1970
Location
Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Case status
unsolved

Case timeline

  1. 1921-09-06

    Mauro De Mauro is born in Foggia, Apulia, Italy.

  2. 1948

    De Mauro moves to Palermo, Sicily, and begins working for local newspapers under an assumed name.

  3. 1959

    De Mauro joins the Palermo newspaper L'Ora as an investigative reporter.

  4. 1962

    De Mauro publishes the first detailed map of the Sicilian Mafia's structure and a series of articles disclosing the 1937 testimony of Mafia member Melchiorre Allegra, both in L'Ora.

  5. 1962-10-27

    Enrico Mattei, president of the Italian state energy company Eni, dies in a plane crash that De Mauro later comes to believe was sabotage.

  6. 1970-09

    At the request of film director Francesco Rosi, De Mauro renews his investigation into Mattei's death and tells colleagues he has 'a scoop that is going to shake Italy.'

  7. 1970-09

    De Mauro interviews former Eni official Graziano Verzotto, who had been aboard Mattei's plane the day before it crashed, two days before his own disappearance.

  8. 1970-09-16

    De Mauro is abducted outside his home on via delle Magnolie in Palermo; he is never found.

  9. 1994-05

    Mafia informant Tommaso Buscetta states that the Sicilian Mafia killed Mattei on behalf of the American Mafia and killed De Mauro for investigating that killing.

  10. 2001

    Following new testimony from Mafia informant Francesco Di Carlo, Italian authorities reopen the judicial inquiry into De Mauro's disappearance.

  11. 2006-04

    The murder trial of Sicilian Mafia boss Salvatore Riina opens at the Court of Palermo, more than 35 years after De Mauro's disappearance.

  12. 2010-10

    Mafia informant Rosario Naimo begins cooperating with Italian authorities following his arrest, later testifying that Riina ordered De Mauro's killing.

  13. 2011-03

    Prosecutor Antonio Ingroia delivers the prosecution's closing argument at Riina's trial.

  14. 2011-06-10

    The Court of Palermo acquits Riina of ordering De Mauro's kidnapping and killing, citing insufficient evidence.

  15. 2013-04

    Prosecutors' appeal of Riina's acquittal opens before the Palermo Appeal Court.

  16. 2014-01-27

    The Palermo Appeal Court upholds Riina's acquittal.

  17. 2015-06

    Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation issues a final ruling absolving Riina, closing the case without a conviction.

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People

  • Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Carabinieri colonel who was among the first investigators on De Mauro's disappearance and pursued the theory that he was killed after uncovering a Sicily-United States drug-trafficking network.

  • Mauro De Mauro

    VICTIM

    Investigative journalist for the Palermo newspaper L'Ora who was abducted in Palermo on 16 September 1970 and has never been found; long presumed killed by the Sicilian Mafia.

  • Boris Giuliano

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Police inspector who investigated De Mauro's disappearance in connection with his reporting on Enrico Mattei's death and said publicly that officials in Rome did not want the investigation to reach its conclusion.

  • Salvatore Riina

    ACQUITTED

    Sicilian Mafia boss tried from 2006 as the sole surviving defendant in De Mauro's killing; acquitted for insufficient evidence in 2011, with the acquittal upheld on appeal in 2014 and finalized by Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation in 2015.

  • Antonio Ingroia

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Public prosecutor who tried the case against Salvatore Riina and argued in his 2011 closing speech that De Mauro was killed to protect Mafia secrets about Mattei's death and the Borghese coup plot.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Archival records

  • File:Mauro de mauro 2.jpg

    portrait victim

    File:Mauro de mauro 2.jpg

    Credit: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain · Source

Places

Palermo, Sicily, Italy

38.1157, 13.3613

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Sicilian investigative journalist Mauro De Mauro vanished in Palermo on 16 September 1970 while investigating the Mafia's suspected role in the 1962 death of Eni president Enrico Mattei. His body has never been found, and the only man ever tried for his presumed killing, Mafia boss Salvatore Riina, was acquitted in a ruling upheld through Italy's highest court in 2015.
Where did the disappearance happen?
Palermo, Sicily, Italy.
What is the current status of the case?
Status: unsolved.
More cases in Italy

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICMauro De MauroWikipedia · 2026-07-12
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The New York TimesThe New York Times · 2026-07-12
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The IndependentThe Independent · 2026-07-12

Record history

First published
JUL 13, 2026