Ignazio and Nino Salvo

Nino Salvo

Ignazio Salvo (pronounced [iɲˈɲattsjo ˈsalvo]; May 27, 1931 – September 17, 1992) and his cousin Nino Salvo (born Antonino Salvo, pronounced [(anto)ˈniːno ˈsalvo]; July 14, 1929 – January 19, 1986) were two wealthy businessmen from the town of Salemi in the Italian province of Trapani. They had strong political connections with the Christian Democracy party (Democrazia Cristiana, DC), in particular with the former mayor of Palermo, Salvo Lima, and Giulio Andreotti. At the Maxi Trial against the Sicilian Mafia in the mid-1980s, they were convicted of association with Mafia members.

Salvo Lima arranged an unusually lucrative concession to collect taxes in Sicily for the Salvo cousins' island (tax collection was contracted out by the government), in exchange for their loyalty to Lima and the Andreotti faction of the DC. The Salvos were allowed 10 percent of the take – three times as much as the national average of 3.3 percent. Subsequently, the Salvos expanded their economic activity to many other areas such as agribusiness (lavishly subsidised by the European Union and Italian government) and tourism. They owned the Zagarella Hotel complex in Santa Flavia, near Palermo.