Cesare Mori: Mussolini’s Iron Prefect vs. The Mafia

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[@Biographics]

Go to curiositystream.com/biographics for unlimited access to the world’s top documentaries and non­fiction series, and for our fans, use promo code biographics and you will save 25% off

[@--enyo--]

Will the Biographics podcast ever come back? I really liked that. Especially the early ones where Simon just sort of discussed the figures after recording the video in a casual way (although understand that might not be feasible time-wise). But even the ones that were the audio from the video were really good as well.

[@master_eagle]

hi biographics ..pls make a video on Dr B R Ambedkar . Father of Indian Constitution and who known as Champion of human rights even before Martin Luther King jr .

[@kennywise1]

Do a Harold Shipman bio documentary the British serial killer 👍

[@MANC2311]

Cosa Nostra is the American version created by Lucky Luciano, not a Sicilian thing at all.

[@megan-solasliceoflife4343]

Can y’all please cover the story of Isabel Godin des Odonais? I can’t find a video recap of her journey anywhere! ❤️❤️❤️

[@danyf.1442]

Italian here, yes please do Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. More people need to know about them.

[@mktf5582]

Absolutely

[@christianwilliams8967]

Damn you know when the main villain of Pokémon is named after him he was a pretty serious guy

[@MrFateorfaith]

Thanks I looked into them based on this comment.

[@AshMundo]

Chi sono?

[@benmcnutt223]

Falcone is one of the best prosecutors in the judicial history. If only he wasn't assassinated he could have fixed Italy

[@oddda5956]

Please, Simon, do make a video on Falcone and Borsellino. They absolutely deserve one. General Dalla Chiesa is also worth his own video: fought in the Resistance, tried to eradicate the terrorists of the Red Brigades from Piedmont at the time when Aldo Moro was kidnapped by the RB in Rome (which is another rabbit hole in its own right) and was transferred to Sicily to help with the mafia only to be assassinated by boss Totò Riina. They are three of the most prominent names in the fight against organized crime here in Italy.

[@Il_Randagio]

I'm sicilian, it would be great to see a video about Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, those men are heroes!

[@RejectedInch]

@Leon Kennedy Zio Bonito never existed. What are you talking about? O_O

[@robertwalker-smith2739]

I've read anecdotal accounts of outraged, tearful Sicilians reproaching Allied military personnel, lamenting 'you brought them *back*!'

[@willhelmberkly3025]

I hope that the allied troops then explained to these peasants that there is no price to great in the quest to eliminate anti-Semitism.

[@coreystone9102]

The mafia is preferable to the Jews

[@majesticuncasual186]

@@willhelmberkly3025 You almost got me there, well stated! ;)

[@long-hair-dont-care88.]

Im assuming many of those who overtly celebrated the syndicate's oppression by fascist went away and never came around again.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

2:20 - Chapter 1 - Making of a lawman 4:15 - Chapter 2 - At war with the bandits 6:35 - Chapter 3 - At war with the black shirts 8:45 - Chapter 4 - Carte blanche 11:55 - Chapter 5 - A military campaign 14:45 - Chapter 6 - Under siege 16:40 - Chapter 7 - The fight goes on 20:10 - Chapter 8 - Resurgence

[@jcdock]

You are the true MVP!

[@1neOfN0ne]

It's the little things such as this that really mean the most

[@matthewwhitton5720]

It’s interesting to note, too, for anyone who might be vaguely intrigued, that ‘ la cosa nostra ‘, with its manic commitment to a Sicilian-only ( by birth, or origin ) descent, was a ‘ tradition ‘ that both Charles ‘ Lucky ‘ Luciano and Alphonse Capone were both determined to completely ignore. ‘ Mafia ‘ organisations are, and never have been, though, limited to Sicily. The Camorra of Napoli and N’Gandretta of Calabria, amongst others, have always been well able to make their presence very heavily felt, globally, but, perhaps due to the wiles of Francis F. Coppola and Mario Puzo, never remotely approached the global notoriety of what Sicily had to offer.

[@--enyo--]

I remember that being mentioned in their Biographics videos.

[@noth606]

Thing is, corruption of one form or another exists everywhere in Italy, and I would guess always has and always will. I grew up there and managed several businesses for years, you can't run a business successfully without all of that, plus political and police connections. All oh which I had, I made a lot of money but I also worked crazy hours, 7 days a week. Some days I worked 19hours, might even have been more. The "real Mafia" ie the real money isn't farmers sons in the south with guns and bombs, it's bankers, politicians, police bosses, business ppl.

[@janekduda7548]

Um.... the Sicilian based, Italian-American, mafia or the mob, controlled the largest piece of the underground pie for decades. It's not because of portrayl by Coppola or Puzo. They were the big dogs for the good part of a whole century. Only after law-enforcement started to better their game and put pressure on the Mob - through new surveilance technology and the RICO act - did others rise to the limelight.

[@noth606]

@@janekduda7548 In the US perhaps, certainly not the rest of the world. Take a peek at the Yakuza, far bigger piece of the pie in every sense, by more than ten times.

[@DavideGobbicchi]

@@noth606 I don't know what part of Italy you come from...but I assure you that here in North Italy you can run a business without sketchy practices. Maybe you refer to South Italy? If yes, don't include North Italy into this...it's a different place

[@nonnayerbusiness7704]

5:30 Gotta turn off your location tracking on your horses. Reminds me of when GPS first came in for farm equipment. They were demonstrating how the vehicle assisted GPS could turn your equipment around by itself at the end of a field pass. An old man piped up: "That's not a new technology, a team of horses could do that 80 years ago!"

[@xyzpdq1122]

Oh, you could do a Megaprojects on the anti-mafia Maxi Trial, or Biographics on its leading judges, Falcons and Borsellino.

[@felbarashla]

I have been dealing with a medical issue today and I appreciate all these Simon videos to have something to focus on. Just now slowing down and good time as this is the last video.

[@zooropaforever]

Truly indeed, the biography of general Dalla Chiesa and magistrates Falcone and Borsellino would be really great stories to tell.

[@blahasdirtysock3657]

I was waiting for this one!

[@edoardoanastasi5218]

Do General Dalla Chiesa and Judges Falcone and Borsellino ❤ Those are national heroes whose stories deserves to be remembered and known across the world. In particular the young policemens that, right after Falcone s murder showed up at Borsellino s door asking for him to take em in his escort and he refusing, knowing well his time was up and not wanting any other brave man to die with him

[@edoardoanastasi5218]

Every time i think about those men my eyes gets wet thinking of the sad state of my country in that regard and of the loss italy suffered with their deaths.

[@chrissirvid5845]

Always interesting, informative and entertaining 👍 team.

[@VittorioSergi]

Cosa Nostra is the literal italian opposite of the Res Publica, cosa meaning thing and nostra meaning our

[@josephschultz3301]

I know this guy isn't talked about a lot, but with his ties to Italy's Fascist party and his war against the Mafia, I'm really hoping this video gets some good views. This is some great content, Simon =D .

[@daveanderson3805]

A remarkable man. It takes guts to go up against the Mafia.

[@dsnodgrass4843]

Not so much if you're backed by an even larger criminal organization. What he did was to serve Fascism, not "Justice"; and no justice for the people of Sicily came from his actions. He only suppressed on type of crime for the sake of another.

[@rickroll9705]

@@dsnodgrass4843 Oh sweet summer child, you actually belevee CIA and FBI are there to serve justice? EL OH EL

[@Superbl0bby]

@@rickroll9705 nobody mentioned CIA and FBI until you did 🤨🤨

[@kaustavswarnakar2373]

@@dsnodgrass4843 aww here comes criminal-son🖕

[@majesticuncasual186]

​@@dsnodgrass4843 You need new firmware on your :::CHOSEN::: mind control

[@MoellerMike1977]

I was waiting for a biographics on Mori.

[@iwatchDVDsonXbox360]

wow! That was surprisingly interesting, thanks!

[@bobgunter9608]

You should do a biography on Allen Dulles the more I hear about him the more he sounds like the greatest villain of the 21st-century

[@Superbl0bby]

So if I’m a villain I get an airport named after me?

[@memofromessex]

Please can you do Thomas Telford. He was engineer arguably equal to the Brunel's and the Armstrong's, but he is not as well known. He also has a town named after him.

[@jackd5089]

Micheal collins would be a good biographic, man cycled around dublin during the war of irish indpendence right under the british noses, because they didnt know what he looked like

[@Losangelesharvey]

apparently like this Mori fellow-throughout the video only a single photo of the man ha ha

[@jackd5089]

@@Losangelesharvey hahahaha

[@long-hair-dont-care88.]

I hate modern society an its endless CCTV

[@mortenjensen1692]

Another awesome video. I am however once again tempted to ask for a video on Gamal Abdel Nasser

[@Eradicus]

MAJOR PROPS TO THIS CHANNEL i've been desperate to learn more about Cesare Mori for ages, so little English language material, great stuff

[@TheEvilCommenter]

Good video 👍

[@larsrons7937]

Very interesting video, an impressive story. I knew Cesare Mori's name and "something about anit-mafia", but not all this story. Thanks for sharing. Giovanni Falcone, Paolo Borcelino, their stories would reaaly be interesting too. I hope you make them some day.

[@DavideGobbicchi]

Good video. Cesare Mori is an interesting figure because although being a North Italian he managed to effectively deal with South Italian mafia, which was largely ignored outside of South Italy back then. Mafia nowadays has developed into white collars, moving away from South Italy into North Italy, Germany, UK, etc... Mafia is now a global actors, quite successful one.

[@brokenbridge6316]

Always heard about this man. Glad to know more about him.

[@poppymilkmoose9155]

If you are looking for good subjects on Italians fighting the mafia, look into Joseph Petrosino. I’d love to see you do a piece on this American hero…and in full disclosure, a relative. 🍻

[@jill.r1725]

Nice video. Can you make a video on Andreas Vesalius?

[@invincibleluis]

Having watched all these biographics videos, it really reminds me of how short life is.

[@Wardner213]

Could you please do a bio on Ip Man? Thank you :)

[@--enyo--]

‘Outside the bowl of chaos was brimming with drift-snow and as I lay in the sleeping-bag beside my dead companion I wondered how, in such conditions, I would manage to break and pitch camp single-handed. There appeared to be little hope of reaching the Hut, still 100 miles away.’ Intrigued? No, it’s not something out of Lovecraft. It’s actually a diary entry from a very real Antarctic expedition that (by coincidence) was name dropped in Lovecraft’s ‘At the Mountains of Madness’. Still intrigued? Then let me formally place my request for a Biographics episode on Sir Douglas Mawson, an Australian geologist, explorer, and academic. Also the face on our $100 bill. This groundbreaking expedition is only one event in a very eventful life.

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Mawson's expedition didn't much resemble the one in At the Mountains of Madness, as there were no tentacles, Shoggoths or Elder Things! I wonder what happened to Danforth? Dyer is mentioned in The Shadow out of Time, probably a better story.

[@--enyo--]

@@owenshebbeare2999 As I said, the expedition is mentioned by name in the story. Believe it or not I don’t actually believe in shoggoths and elder things. 😉 One party member actually did succumb to schizophrenia during the expedition. It was quite sad and put a lot of pressure on the other expedition members.

[@j0njn]

Great video. As you’ve started on the topic on Mafia vs. fascists, I think Operation Underworld and/or Calogero "Don Calò" Vizzini and his role in it would make for a good video on one of your channels. Edit: aaaaand less than two hours later it’s covered on Today I Found Out 🤣 I’m not deleting this comment however, it’s too funny 😂 And also it serves as a recommendation for that video.

[@Hamzakhan-dt3gv]

Interesting video

[@chrisyanover1777]

Simon, I'm curious how long it takes from start to releasing a video? From when you come up with the idea, do the research, record, edit, and finally release a video.

[@guaratingueta1122]

He is only presenting the video, authors are different, as it's clearly noted in every video

[@chrisyanover1777]

@@guaratingueta1122 I realize it's a team effort with Danny authoring the content. That's why I'm asking how long the whole process takes. Including the editing from start to release. I also realize each video may take different time to, it's just in general.

[@markdturnock]

@@chrisyanover1777 i think Danny only does BB. This one's credited to Arnaldo

[@algini12]

19:27 Major inaccuracy here. Gambino and Bonnano came to the U.S. too young to have fled due to Mafia activities. Bonanno did briefly return to Sicily, but he was still too young when he returned. Both rose to power exclusively in the American rackets.

[@timsmith1323]

Not quite true both belonged to mafia clans and bonnano was active when he moved back to the US his own cousin maggadino and Willie moretti had to bail him out when he landed and gambino was 19 or so when he moved to the US his brothers were both already in Sicilian mafia and he was suspected of being already inducted as well when he landed in America hence why he was almost straight away knee deep in mob activities same with bonnano he was a mob boss of his own 7 years after returning so must have already been massively associated with them and we know his cousin and uncles already held powerful positions when he moved back

[@algini12]

@@timsmith1323 They didn't flee because of Mori. Simon calls them top level Dons. They clearly weren't that in Sicily being so young. And what what happened in the U.S. is not the issue. I see nothing that shows he was a mob boss overseas in Sicily or Italy. And clan membership doesn't lend itself to having fled because of it at such a young age.. Granted Bonano became a boss at 26 here in the U.S., but he wasn't a Don as Simon said. And induction here is FAR different than induction in Sicily. And clearly the Mob over there is far different and not connected to the U.S. There was later cooperation in different avenues, but it was not the same structure. What his other family was in Sicily or in the U.S. is not pertinent.

[@timsmith1323]

@@algini12 I never said he was a mob boss in Sicily pal I just pointed out that you said neither was mobbed up in Sicily which isn’t true both were mobbed up there and gambino wasn’t a baby when he moved to the US he was a 19 year old mafia crim

[@algini12]

@@timsmith1323 it was Simon that said that he was a Don in Sicily. Which was the point of my original comment. I never said that you did.

[@Beryllahawk]

It feels like the fault - if you can call it that? - doesn't so much lie with Mori. Instead, the people who COULD have started those big changes - the people who could've addressed the poverty, increased regulation of landlords so they could not pull that 1000% increase of rents...in other words, the leaders in the government... They didn't follow up on the successes Mori managed. So he fought his battles more or less alone - in the sense that no one with real power was willing to actually back him up. Being given carte blanche is great and all... but you can't just hand the job over, and then sit back and ignore the problem. I'm sure it's more complex than you have time to really get into - social and political and economic situations ALWAYS are - but it just kind of feels like Mussolini expected Mori to simply make the problem go away... like expecting the lawn guy to cut your grass once and never having to maintain beyond that. Guy must have been massively frustrated by the end of his life :(

[@giovannicecchinato8217]

there is a video about mafia support in the invasion of sicily?

[@gilbertovega3976]

Please make a video on Anton Szandor LaVey!

[@AlexVecchietti]

The first to fight fascism were the Italian partisans,the first to resist and then fight the Mafia were and are Sicilians themselves and no other Sicilian can be attributed the title of anti mafia hero than Judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. What incredible stories they have Simon.

[@brandonk8948]

The Italian Elliott Ness....I want a movie or mini series please

[@upintheairstudio]

Simon do a video on Jessica Lynch!

[@TheRedEagle1993]

Make a video about Carlo Gambino !!! The boss of bosses !

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

Day of 164 of asking for Nicolae Ceaușescu vid.

[@jasonallen3678]

Great unsung story mate..

[@rogercullina7552]

Where do find the time to run 11 different channels??

[@donrog5035]

To be fair I won’t be against his methods (even slightly illegal) if it allows to crack down the mafia.

[@danielreuben1058]

Is it mafia day with Simon Whistler? (I may have just given you a new channel to start). I know you're a Big Brain, but do you ever get a script and think, "wow, I didn't know any of this?" I feel that way watching some of these videos. Can I have some free beard oils?

[@ethanramos4441]

They even made a movie about him in 1977 and a tv series in 2012

[@sethstock3187]

Do you have one on Guglielmo Marconi?

[@DislikeThisCommentNow]

Zesty Italian here, you should do more videos on those individuals

[@davidbrucejr1226]

For some reason this video gets fuzzy and freezes at around 9 minutes in? It freezes on Roku TV

[@chriszarnsy2378]

You're so British buddy. Hearing u say "omerta" (O ma where ta) had me cracking up. Fair enough tho; if my job were cold'reading massive material I'd be lucky to do half as well as u. Gg

[@robdon3472]

Can we get a video of Wild Bill Donovan?

[@aranahorua-heather25]

Antonino Calderone (who became a pentito in 1987) the first Mafia family in Catania was started by Antonio Saitta. He had been prosecuted by Mussolini’s Iron Prefect, Cesare Mori. One of his daughters was the mother of Giuseppe and Antonino Calderone.. I didnt know Cesare was related to the mafia.. Well I guess nooo one knew

[@connorhenry9599]

Do one on Eugen Turcanu. Research the Pitesti Experiment.

[@psilocyiarise3947]

heavy emphasizes on might tell another day lol

[@GiuseppePipia]

So random that I'm a true citizen resident of Caltabellotta and I clicked on this video just on curiosity and find my hometown featured!!!

[@mattfarr137]

I’m surprised you haven’t done William wilberforce yet…

[@diversejoe617]

Mussolini: We run stuff in this joint Mafia:

[@perfolkesson7333]

Sticking to the "iron" theme, perhaps the Iron Marshall will make an appearance soon?

[@ifthen1526]

Fun fact, there are so many accents in Italy that using officers from even 10 miles away wouldn't have worked

[@duncancurtis1758]

A biopic on Salvatore Guliani would be good he headed Sicilian bandits in the late 40s.

[@harrisonmiller6475]

Yitzhak Rabin would be a good idea for a future video.

[@joshuacollums9935]

i think it would funny if you let your writers do one on you bio and you read it as a cold read

[@jonmcgee6987]

You just figure if this guy had been born in Texas. He would have made one hell of a Ranger.

[@linzianna]

When the moon hits the sky like a big pizza pie Cesare Mori!!

[@christianmohr2993]

Im watching as well

[@damm41]

Is curiousity stream available in the DPRK? The dear leader is very strict

[@PopeyeBjj86]

Apocalypse ww1 was on nat geo couple of months ago was reallly good

[@octaviopla5506]

Make a video of Aldo Moro

[@Doc8776]

Do a bio Lt. Col. Robert Stirm " burst of joy"

[@craigduncan4826]

Like when you were a kid and you held in your number two for as long as you could, cause you were having a sleepover at your friends house. Eventually you demonstrate total reckless abandon and decide to just go in the friends family’s toilet 🚽 and then discover that you have held it in for so long, diarrhoea explodes from your little backside. Thus the first attempt at in your 10 short years of life at cleaning a toilet begins and the result is messy as well as clearly obvious. This story reminds me of that.

[@briandoss9232]

Huh never heard of him. Wish this had been taught in history class.

[@miquelr2353]

Wow 15 dollars for a year. First time in my life I didnt get angry at a commercial

[@michaelpipkin9942]

Sounds like an Absolute Mad Lad.

[@DavidTaylor-qy7tk]

Oh ya look up Roberto Calvi too!

[@mattvonel4039]

1:24

[@josephkmeyer5178]

Can you do George Wallace? He is a great case study of a populist thriving within the United States.

[@richardhemingson3824]

One person I'd like to learn more about through here is John Paul Jones.

[@melloangelwolf8611]

Apocalypse WW2 is also good

[@garygardener2138]

Just my point of view but I prefer the more sombre articulation of your subjects 👌🏻

[@olanrewajuihenacho178]

But needs a little more care pronouncing well known Italian terms, names and places. Worst were ‘Boloney-a’ and using mafioso as a plural. Why do so much research and then spoil it all? Just ask any Italian before recording.

[@mell91349]

Basically the allies reinstated the mafia in sicily

[@icreatedanaccountforthis1852]

Good food and wine.

[@namelesscare7982]

Rich culture, historical heritage, fast cars, delicious foods, and the most famous one, the ruthless mafia organizations, leaders. These are the Italian's gifts to the entire world society.

[@stevesunil8356]

11:52

[@twocvbloke]

Seems like he just took criminal behaviour and turned it into "legal acts" being under the guise of the law........

[@Argos-xb8ek]

13:36 amazing Psychological Warfare

[@ravenhill_the_cryptic_of_1968]

my late italian grandparents were from the south of italy too.

[@user-xt3sd5kf5c]

Was he brown too?

[@Tidiahn]

What a G 😎

[@naranara1690]

Iron Prefect would be a good name for a fascist Italian version of Iron Man

[@dodadoodora]

Fun fact: Joseph Bonanno is my great uncle’s uncle

[@Robbi496]

This man was quite a dude!

[@mathewkeen2356]

Huh? The Mafia began as a response to the French occupation of Naples. Local men banded together to protect the women and vulnerable from the brutal French soldiers and barons. They eventually became the security forces you mention.

[@Ageboy2001]

The focus on him being “anti-fascist” because of his anti-rioting actions is overly zealous and ahistorical. Mori actively spoke and wrote, privately and publicly, of his admiration for Fascism, he famously wrote “What caused the undoubted efforts made in the past [referring to older initiatives to end the Mafia] to peter out was a feeling of listlessness, in the minds of the people which seemed refractory even to unusual stimulants. It was not a reality, it was not a fact, but a feeling; yet the past was infected and dominated by it until the day when, on the coming of Fascism, the Duce in person broke the evil spell.”, and would remain an Italian Senator for Fascism (while admittedly opposed the alliance with Hitler, which many fascists did). There are literal photos of him in a blackshirt and his connection to Fascism, especially in Sicily, has remained and is one of the reasons why the Fascist era is fondly remembered.

[@itz_kuri4481]

Why haven't you still made a episode for Albert Pike?

[@daysgoby7310]

Mexico needs an iron prefect.

[@DavidM-tg1oy]

Where is Cesare Mori when we really NEED him? Tell us about how the American forces invading Sicily re-legalized the Mafia there...Thank you, FDR!!

[@sjoncb]

Wow, they were all savages!