The Pisciotta Case (Il caso Pisciotta)

Primerisco, Barone.

Good afternoon.

Hey, how many bedbugs did you catch last night? I got 26.

I dreamed I fucked Pampanini 3 times! She was totally naked.

Shut up! What would she want with a loser like you?

You feed us as if we're actually ill here!

I want your best coffee today... freshly brewed, please, eh?

All right, don't worry.

Hey, chief.

Bring me a newspaper and 2 kilos of oranges.

Don Vincenzo, would you like some coffee?

I want my coffee without sugar this morning.

Camillo.

Take this to Rocco.

Rocco.

Open up. I'll sort it out.

Enough!

Get out of here immediately!

Passalaqua! Stop it immediately!

Hello, Pisciotta. Is the coffee ready?

Jesus! This smells great!

- Hello, Donato. Coffee is ready. - Salvatore, how are you?

Meh...

Gaspare.

Is this enough paper?

You'll probably need all this paper to write to the Prosecutor of the Republic.

I'll write what I can. Then... I'll tell the rest in person.

Well done!

Write, write.

You'll sell these memoirs for a high price.

You're wrong!

I don't sell my story!

Cava, call everybody for a walk.

What's that?

I've been poisoned! Poisoned!

- Who's screaming like that? - It's Pisciotta's cell.

- Stay here and don't let anyone out! - Come, quickly, to the cell.

THE PISCIOTTA CASE

Dr. Casale - medical examiner.

Deputy Prosecutor of the Republic - Dr. Scauri.

Dr. Palmi - prison warden.

I have arranged a room for you, if you need it.

- Post-mortem results. - Thank you.

Pisciotta's cell.

- If you don't mind, let's start there. - I'll let them know.

No, no, no. There's no need for that. Just come with us.

- But I thought... - Later, later. Let's go.

About 20mg of strychnine was found in Pisciotta's blood.

- That's enough to kill up to 40 people. - But isn't strychnine very bitter?

Evidently whoever prepared the poison

knew that he took his coffee without sugar.

Yes, but he would always smell and taste his food first.

And if he had any doubt, he would give it to his canary. Open it!

Why were Pisciotta and his father in isolation cells?

When he got here he asked for an isolation cell.

And you know about his history with Salvatore Giuliano.

Where do you think the poison came from?

God only knows how it got in here.

- The security here is strict. - Really, director. Don't exaggerate.

Marshal Ippoliti. Head of security.

- We are here to visit Pisciotta's cell. - Here. Open.

Water, sugar, coffee.

There was also a dose of vitamin in his blood.

A post-mortem showed that he didn't take anything else that morning.

- Any trace of the poison? - None.

The coffee pot had been washed before we got here. The cups too.

- What about the coffee grounds? - Gone. And the vitamin packaging too.

Who tidied up in here?

Why wasn't the cell secured so that nothing would disappear?

I did. I came back here within the hour. Everything had already disappeared.

It's probably my fault, Prosecutor. I lost my head.

What do you mean?

In all the commotion, I only thought about taking

Gaspare Pisciotta quickly to the infirmary, and not about other things.

And you left the cell unattended?

It wasn't just me here. There were other officers around.

I never thought something like this would happen...

Who witnessed the death?

The priest in the cell, and the guard Sciutti, Donato.

Was he on duty?

No, sir. The guard on duty was... Beretta.

You can go.

I'd like to question Salvatore Pisciotta.

Pisciotta Senior is in the infirmary. He's in shock.

Would you please bring Salvatore Pisciotta to my office tomorrow morning?

- Certainly, Mr. Prosecutor. - Thank you!

You certainly have many clippings about the Giuliano case.

Here they are.

"Mafia, police, bandits.

"We were like Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

"Testifying were: Bernardo Mattarella, Prince Gianfranco Aleatto,

monarchist deputy Leone Marchessano, and Mr. Scelba."

Now...

This is a quotation from 'Time' magazine,

about Pisciotta's testimony at the Viterbo trial.

When he started talking, everyone thought he was confessing.

- Sorry sir, we need you in typography. - All right.

- Excuse me. - Of course.

How happy I am to see you after all these years, Don Francesco.

- Your sister has already arrived. - Thanks.

aria: "Surta è la notte"

For seven years you've managed to avoid me, but I'll get my payback.

You haven't changed at all. The same angry face.

If you weren't my beloved brother, I would think you're a mafioso.

What a surprise, dear Adelaide!

Your Excellence! Do you know my brother? The Maniscalcos.

- Hello. - Good evening.

Good evening. Francesco, you really don't remember me?

You often visited my villa in Monreale when you were a child.

- Indeed. - Scauri!

Oh, please excuse me.

My dear Francesco.

- Lawyer. - How are you?

Princess, let me introduce the new Deputy Prosecutor Francesco Scauri.

- The Princess of Mizzoli. - Princess.

Princess.

Not a bad production of Ernani, eh?

- Francesco, how are you? - Sorry...

Come. So many people want to meet you.

Why don't you come to see me on Sunday? We'll talk of the old days.

Mama is awake. Go on, say hello. She'll be pleased.

Bye.

Mama.

Why did you come back?

You should have stayed away from this house.

I didn't leave willingly. It was the order of the Prosecutor of the Republic.

This is a very important thing, Mama.

And of course, you could not help but take the opportunity.

Hello, Francesco!

And why not?

This is the worst case of the century...

and you had to get into it.

Have you lost your mind, Francesco?

You should have refused, or faked an illness to get inside a clinic.

What will you do now?

This is not Milan, Turin or Udine.

Your mother, your father, your two brothers? You forgot about us?

No.

So you call it the investigation into Gaspare Pisciotta's death?

And you - what would you call it?

Adelaide told me how many people were licking your boots

during the interval at Massimo's Theatre.

And didn't you wonder why?

You didn't wonder?

Go to the Attorney General, son. Invent something.

Or tell the truth. Say that you can't handle it. He'll respect that.

Listen to your father: leave this case to someone else.

But, Papa...

Listen to me, at least once in your life.

Francesco...

Go to sleep.

"The deaf, the blind and the dumb will live 100 years in peace."

- Is this a message to me? - No. Not at all...

And how did no one notice that this was written there?

That is a common saying among the...

If you allow me, Mr. Prosecutor.

The red paint must have been hidden somewhere.

Finding who stole it should be very easy.

Allow me, Mr. Prosecutor.

Ferdinando Cusimano. Dr. Scauri.

I'm accused of several murders. They say I'll get a life sentence.

I've been sitting here for 5 years.

Red paint is kept in the carpenter's cabinet...

but anyone could have taken it.

One of the brushes is missing, but it won't be easy to find it.

Don't waste your time.

My kind regards.

Only one of you two could have given strychnine to your son.

Either the guard or you.

- Me? My own flesh and blood? - Yes, you.

Who entered first when the cell was opened?

Who hid the vitamins?

Who cleaned the coffee pot and the bowls?

I know nothing.

Guards entered, and then I went to the infirmary with Gaspare.

I never went back to the cell. How could I know what anyone did there?

Salvatore Pisciotta!

Your son decided to reveal

what he had kept hidden at the Viterbo trial.

Do you know what that was?

After the Viterbo trial

Gaspare explained that he'd told the whole story,

maybe even said too much.

And then only God knows what happened.

My Gaspare...

My son went crazy in this place.

He changed. He wasn't able to think sensibly.

He associated himself with Carlo Magno,

and sometimes even called himself Mussolini -

What nonsense are you trying to tell me?!

Your son is dead.

You want to make him look crazy.

Go.

If you were a true Sicilian, like me,

you would understand me, and even pity me.

I couldn't open the cell, Mr. Prosecutor.

Even if I had the keys, it's against the rules.

If a prisoner says he is not well, we must first ensure that it's genuine,

and then call a doctor and inform the superintendent.

More than enough time for him to die.