Batman International

In 2005 Alphonso Giovanni, a retired staff member of the Prosecution Office of Palermo, Sicily, made headlines with the publication of a memoir, Legionario di Justizia (Legionary of Justice). In it Giovanni recalled his service with the Office during the mass Sicilian Mafia prosecutions of the 1980s. During the early 1980s investigators in Palermo formed a special task force called the “Antimafia Pool,” which served to pool information and develop strategies for a major crackdown against organized crime. As a member of the Pool, Giovanni became noted for his effectiveness as a gatherer of incriminating information. In his memoir he revealed that he had received assistance in his work from the American vigilante known as the Batman

It was in November of 1983 that I made my first acquaintance with the individual whom the Americans call the Batman. Lucrezia and the children were away that evening visiting family in Catania. As I was preparing for bed, I felt a sudden draft through the apartment. It chilled me—and I do not mean only because of the cold. Though I was not one of the Office’s more prominent staff, I knew that I too was likely to be at risk from the criminals, and had taken steps to improve the security of my residence. I had made certain before retiring that all of the doors and windows were locked, all of the alarms set. The draft of cool night air could mean only that some party had made entrance without my invitation!

Before I could further react, I saw a shadowy figure standing in my room. It was a tall man, cloaked in the most remarkable dress which I had ever seen. He was clothed from head to toe in a kind of dark purple. A mask covered his face. Projections resembling ears or horns rose from his head. He wore also a kind cape streaming from his back. My fear for my life was replaced by a kind of dumbfounded wonder. Certainly this intruder was no Cosa Nostra assassin. But what could he be?

As I stared, my mouth no doubt gaping in astonishment, the figure spoke in American-accented English. “Please do not be afraid, Mr. Giovanni,” he said. “I am the American vigilante known as the Batman. I have for many years assisted the police in my country in gathering information regarding the activities of organized crime. I would like to offer you and your office my assistance.”

As I have previously noted, I had family connections in the United States, indeed had spent a good deal of time there myself in my boyhood and during my later education. I had heard of this person called the Batman. Police officers in New York had assured me that he did indeed exist. Was this truly he?

“If you are the Batman,” I said, “can you present to me some form of proof of your identity?”

“I believe we have an acquaintance in common,” he said. “Your cousin Sandro from New York sends you greetings. He says that Bellina is fifteen now and is attracting more boys than he would like.”

Bellina was my term of affection for Sandro’s daughter, who had so enchanted me as a little girl during a previous stay in New York some years earlier. I searched my mind and quickly recalled that she had, indeed, celebrated her fifteenth birthday earlier that year. This bit of personal information convinced me that this Batman had been in contact with my trusted relatives.

The Batman and I had a long discussion together that evening. It seems that he had been observing with interest news of the recent developments in the Prosecution Office’s efforts to create a sustained campaign against organized crime in Sicily. He was aware that poor Chinnici’s [Rocco Chinnici, head of the Examining Office at Palermo, the creator of the Antimafia Pool] assassination had spurred a redoubling of the effort.

Wishing to assist in the good work, the Batman had cast about for an ally through whom he could act. He had somehow learned that Sandro, who worked in law enforcement in New York, had a relative who was associated with the Antimafia Pool, a highly trustworthy relative who spoke fluent English and so would pose no difficulties in translation. He wished for me to serve as a contact through whom he could offer assistance. I readily accepted.

The assistance which the Batman provided was of two types. First, he shared information which he himself had gathered which might be of interest. Given the Sicilian Mafia’s international ties, this information occasionally proved beneficial. Second, he provided me with access to espionage technologies which I might employ. These included special cameras and eavesdropping devices, as well as secret methods of encryption and communication.

From that point on, I maintained a lively long-distance collaboration with the Batman. It was clear that he had at his disposal an organization of information gatherers devoted to learning and exposing the secrets of powerful criminals. In effect, I became an operative of this organization. I received from him the codename “Legionary.” Other operatives with whom I came in contact included one in London named “Knight,” and another in Buenos Aires known as “Gaucho.” It would prove a most beneficial collaboration for all of us.

It is interesting to note that at the time when I met the Batman he had reportedly been retired from his activities as a vigilante in New York City for some three years. It was not until 1989 that another Batman began to make public appearances in the streets of that city. It would seem, then, that I was favored by a special appearance by this costumed figure. The Batman may have been “retired” as a costumed vigilante during the greater part of the 1980s, but I can attest that he and his associates nonetheless remained highly active in the ongoing war against organized crime.

Over the next several years the magistrates of the Antimafia Pool in Palermo gradually assembled evidence for the largest mass prosecution in Mafia history. The 1986 “Maxi Trial” resulted in the conviction of 360 mafiosi. Sadly, many of these subsequently won acquittal through the efforts of friendly judges who released them on technicalities—many, ironically, stemming from the unusual evidence-gathering methods employed by Giovanni. The prosecutors nonetheless persisted, and succeeded in undoing many of the appeals. Eventually, thanks to the efforts of the heroic lawmen of whom Giovanni was one, the Sicilian Mafia was dealt a series of blows from which it has never fully recovered.