CACCAMO, Italy — There's another Stanfa crime family, and it's in this quaint mountain village of olive groves, palm trees and cacti, about 20 miles east of Palermo.
The birthplace of Philadelphia's jailed crime boss, John Stanfa, is so riddled with Mafiosi that one official claimed "even the stones belong to the Mafia."
The local boss is Stanfa's nephew, Antonio Guiffre, 49. Three of Stanfa's brothers are also reputed mob members, according to the local police chief.
But the anti-Mafia fervor sweeping Sicily has also swept through this village of 9,000.
Two years ago Caccamo's government was dissolved under a new anti-mob law. Last March - exactly one year after Philadelphia's Stanfa mob was arrested in a sweeping federal racketeering indictment - 15 members of the Stanfa mob here and in Palermo were arrested in a massive raid.
The arrests included John Stanfa's brother Nicasio, 67. Also charged was Guiffre, who is a fugitive.
Whether these changes and the installation of a new mayor a few days ago will change life in Caccamo remains to be seen.
Said Giuseppe Liberi, a 29-year-old village butcher, with a shrug:
"Life in Caccamo - it's good and bad."
Italy enacted tough new anti-Mafia laws in the wake of the 1992 mob-ordered assassinations of Judge Giovanni Falcone and investigative magistrate Paolo Borsellino.
It is now a crime to belong to the Mafia, and both Guiffre and Nicasio Stanfa were charged with Mafia association.
Guiffre is believed to be living in the area. He is married to the daughter of Stanfa's brother Ciro, 70. Neither Ciro nor brother Salvatore, 64, have ever been arrested, but they are considered Mafia suspects because of the family's activities, said police official.
John Stanfa has no criminal record in Italy.
When the Caccamo government was dissolved, the Italian prime minister appointed three high officials to form a commission to operate the village. The commission's 18-month term was extended six months until a new mayor, Christian Democrat Nicasio DiNicola, was elected May 14.
Until recently, the Mafia controlled most - if not all - elections, financing candidates who would protect them and enact legislation in their favor.
Liberi said during the mayoral election "this pressure to vote, it doesn't exist here anymore."
But, he believes, "We cannot eliminate the Mafia. It's impossible to win this fight."
Married with one child, Liberi said he feels the Mafia's influence in high prices and unemployment.
