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"Every decision I make, it's what's good for the business and my boys."
Don Salieri

Don Salieri is the main antagonist of Mafia: Definitive Edition.

History[]

Background[]

Ennio Salieri was born in Sicily sometime in the latter half of the 19th century. As a young boy, he met Frank Colletti and the two youngsters got their first taste of crime by betting on dog races with Frank's Italian greyhound, taking advantage of the fact that the dog was faster than any other in their neighborhood. Unfortunately, the dog lost a race one day after becoming pregnant, and the young Salieri had to give up his pocketknife. As Frank would relate to Tommy Angelo decades later, he never saw the Don angrier than on that day and could not stop his friend from shooting the dog after failing to drown it.

Peppone Era[]

Salieri and Frank immigrated to America in 1908 and settled in Lost Heaven, where Salieri became a trusted caporegime under Don Peppone along with Marcu Morello. Initially, both Salieri and Morello respected and valued each other. Following Peppone's murder in 1921, the two capos divided his empire and became Dons in their own right, with Salieri recruiting Frank to help him form the Salieri family. Salieri and Morello gradually fell out with each other, leading to a "cold war" of sorts. Morello would constantly antagonize Salieri and take "bites" out of his rackets, albeit never attempting an outright war with him.

Prohibition Era[]

Over time, Salieri and Morello set up lucrative bootlegging, gambling, prostitution and various other rackets, both legal and illegal, in their territories, gaining incredible wealth and power while building strong alliances with the corrupt political and civic leaders of Lost Heaven through payoffs and gifts.

Salieri slowly built up an image as a respectable father figure and pillar of the community, aided by his refusing to permit the sale of narcotics in his territory and driving off small-time criminals who lacked respect for him and his rules. Morello, on the other hand, became known as a brutish and cruel man who cared little for anyone, even his own underlings, and would do anything to turn a profit, up to and including selling drugs.

In 1930, Salieri brought Tommy into his family after learning that he had been targeted for death by the Morello family after helping his top enforcer, Paulie Lombardo, and his caporegime Sam Trapani escape from an ambush. Over the next two years, Tommy gradually worked his way up from associate to soldato while Salieri continued to feud with Morello. Things finally took a turn for the worst in 1932 when the son of Lost Heaven City Council President Roberto Ghillotti was killed in a turf war between the Salieri family and a gang of hoods in Chinatown. A furious Ghillotti demanded that Salieri be brought to justice for the murder, and Morello was all too happy to help.

Salieri was soon betrayed by Frank, who had grown tired of the mob life and agreed to give the family's account books to the FBI in exchange for help getting his family out of Lost Heaven. The books were recovered by Tommy, who also "killed" Frank as punishment for breaking omerta. Morello then tried pressuring Lost Heaven's crooked district attorney to build a case against Salieri, but the prosecutor's evidence was stolen by Tommy and the case quickly fell apart. Finally, Morello settled for using his extensive control of the city's police force to slowly chip away at Salieri's businesses until he was down to just his bootlegging racket.

The Lost Heaven Mob War[]

Main article: Salieri-Morello War

With the family on its last legs, Salieri approved a plan by Paulie to purchase smuggled Kentucky whiskey, the sale of which would be enough to cover their financial difficulties. Despite Morello trying to thwart the deal, the whiskey was safely delivered, and by 1935, the Salieri family had restored itself to full profitability.

This was the last straw for Morello, who resorted to ordering a hit on Salieri. Salieri survived with Tommy's help and even took care of the traitor who had helped Morello. The failed hit sparked outright war between the rival families. Salieri's Bar was closed and boarded-up, extra armed men were brought in to protect the family's rackets, and Salieri declared that all protection would be withdrawn from associates he deemed as lacking sufficient loyalty.

Ghillotti and Morello's own brother Sergio were among the war's casualties, and eventually Morello himself was killed by a hit crew led by Tommy himself. With their Don slain, the remaining Morello family soldiers agreed to end the war and join with Salieri, who quickly became the undisputed ruler of Lost Heaven's criminal underworld with all of the city's judges and elected officials in his pocket. At the height of his power in 1938, Salieri committed his most infamous act: ordering the public assassination of state gubernatorial candidate Hank Turnbull for threatening to go after the family if he was elected.

Downfall[]

Tommy, despite becoming Salieri's favorite caporegime, is increasingly disturbed by the Don's more ruthless behavior and lack of consideration for other members of the family, which quickly becomes clear when he, Sam, and Paulie are ordered by Salieri to steal impounded goods from federal lockup, a crime that could have put all three of them in prison if they had been caught. Salt is then rubbed in the wound when the stolen goods turn out to be heroin purchased by Salieri, making it clear that the drugs are not only being sold in violation of the family's rules, but that they will be sold exclusively for his personal profit.

Paulie, already bitter over Salieri refusing to promote him, decides that he will desert the family and start a new life. To finance this, he and Tommy agree to rob the Grand Imperial Bank without telling Salieri. The Don learns about the heist from Sam, and furious that his two best men would dare steal from him (since the Imperial launders the family's earnings), he orders Sam to have them both killed. Paulie is whacked at his apartment, but Tommy manages to gun down Sam and his crew when they ambush him at the art gallery. Knowing that he has nowhere else to turn, Tommy contacts an honest cop, Detective Norman, and asks for a deal.

Tommy's decision to cooperate with the police proves to be the end of Salieri's rule; the evidence and testimony provided is enough for him and most of the family to be convicted and sentenced to long terms in prison. Salieri never forgets the man who ruined him, and years later learns from his contacts in the Empire Bay crime families that Tommy has settled there under an assumed name with his family. In 1951, the former Don finally exacts his revenge. Two Falcone family soldatos, Vito Scaletta and Joe Barbaro, are contracted to drive to Tommy's house and shoot him dead on his front lawn. It can be assumed that with his lust for revenge finally satiated, Salieri then dies in prison as an old man.

Personality[]

Don Salieri is calculating and generous, willing to help families and friends in need and ensuring that the neighborhoods under his control are protected from both delinquents and Morello's gang. He is also gifted with the ability to think long-term, noting how the end of Prohibition will force him to venture into new avenues of income. He values loyalty above everything but still retains some measure of strictness, ensuring that his subordinates do not get complacent or negligent. To most, he is a compassionate gentleman who looks out for others and tries to make sure that his criminal acts are as low-profile as possible.

Despite this, Salieri has a darker side, often displaying a vengeful anger whenever he is deeply hurt, be it emotionally or financially. As a boy, he shot a dog simply because it lost a race he was betting on. Salieri usually keeps his anger under control but seems to get more and more ruthless and mean-spirited after Frank is no longer around to keep him contained. Following the attempt on his life by Morello, Salieri personally goes to Carlo's apartment and beats him to death with his own hands, to the point where Carlo's head is later found smashed to bits like a "watermelon" by Sergio's men.

Affiliations[]

Notable Murders[]

  • Carlo (Soldato, Salieri Crime Family)

Appearances[]

Mafia: DE[]

Trivia[]

  • Salieri's character appears to be inspired by Don Vito Corleone from The Godfather and Paulie Cicero from Goodfellas. He also has influences from real-world mobsters such as Johnny "The Fox" Torrio, a founding father of the early American Mafia, and Frank Nitti, who controlled the Chicago Outfit in the 1930s after the fall of Al Capone.
  • A letter can be found in Salieri's Bar during "Molotov Party" where Salieri is thanked by a local businessman for attending the wedding of his daughter and donating a large cash gift to her bridal purse.
  • Despite starting his criminal career after he left Sicily, Salieri still has numerous "friends" back in the Old World (again, like Vito Corleone). This is how he was able to learn Frank was still alive and have him properly killed.
  • Unlike his counterpart in the original game, Salieri does not carry a gun on his own person.
  • Tommy mentions to Detective Norman that Salieri was the best man at Morello’s own wedding in 1920.
  • Salieri is a close friend of Vinci family boss Frank Vinci, explaining how he was able to arrange for Tommy's murder in 1951.
  • Glenn Taranto, his voice actor, also portrays police chief Earl Wilson in Mafia III.

Gallery[]

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