PESCARA. He retains an indelible memory of his first meeting with the judge Giovanni Bottle. He was a young auxiliary policeman of just 23 years old, Dario Falvo, when he was selected to join the escort «on a voluntary basis, given that after the attack in Addaura no one wanted to do it anymore». Today Falvo is deputy commissioner: 32 years after the Capaci massacre he has become a witness of that season to the younger generations. Today he is in Pescara at 10 am in Piazza Salotto to meet the students during the initiative “Palermo calls Abruzzo responds” organized by the Premio Borsellino on the occasion of the celebrations of the 32nd anniversary of the Capaci and Via D’Amelio massacres in which the Falcone judges lost their lives, Francesca Morvillo And Paolo Borsellino and the agents of their escorts.
What do you have left of those years in the service of Judge Falcone?
«I carry within me an indelible mark and a pain that is certainly managed and metabolized, but never quelled. It is the emotional memory of colleagues and blood brothers, as we were called then, who are no longer here today. A bond that continues today with those who remained, with whom we communicate and see each other again. I was the youngest, I arrived in Palermo in ’88 when I was 22 and I left at the end of 1992 after Via D’Amelio when I was 26.”
And what do you remember most about Falcone?
«Many things, but above all his tireless personality in his work and his total dedication to the State. He was a great figure in the institutions, true and loyal, as was Judge Borsellino.”
How did your first meeting happen?
«I was 23 years old when I introduced myself to join his escort on a voluntary basis, because after the failed attack in Addaura no one wanted to do it anymore. In those years there were 900 of us at the Palermo stock office. The process to join Falcone’s escort wasn’t that simple, but I knew one of his trusted men, Antonio Montinaro, and he was the one who introduced me. When I met him I was 23 years old, I went to him with another colleague. He looked me straight in the eyes and said: “Are you aware of what you’re coming to do?”. A question that encompassed everything. But I was moved by a very strong motivation, I knew I had the honor and privilege of guaranteeing protection, escort and guardianship to the right person who deserved to be protected to the extreme.”
What do today’s kids think of those years of fighting the mafia?
«Young people are our future and their memory must always be stimulated. It is necessary to update them on facts that their parents barely remember anything about. In meetings with high school students I notice curiosity and interest, they ask technical questions about how the supplies work and they often ask me if we were afraid.”
And what does she reply: were you afraid?
«Of course we were afraid. We are human beings, fear must be there because it helps sharpen the senses and perception of what is happening around. But fear must be managed, you must control it and make it almost become your friend if you want to do this job. Only by being afraid does the level of professionalism increase.”
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