My brutal family shot rivals & blew up judges in Mafia's most infamous massacre…I'd be dead if I hadn't fled to UK at 12
HIS family tree is a rogues' gallery of hitmen, murderers and extortionists and were even behind the infamous bombings that killed two Sicilian judges and eight police officers in 1992.
And at 12 years old, Riccardo di Cascia Burzotta was being lured into the dangerous underworld of the mafioso.
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In his native Sicily, the Burzotta clan are woven into the fabric of the Mafia's most grisly crimes - and Riccardo was being groomed by older cousins into following their criminal way of life.
But in a brave move which 'saved his life', his parents fled the Italian island for the UK - starting a new life in Southend on Sea in Essex.
'Before they were even in their teens my cousins were burning down shops to send messages to people who didn't pay their protection money," Riccardo tells The Sun.
"If we stayed living in Sicily I would have joined them because I didn't really understand how dangerous it was and I didn't know any better.
'I was born into that life which meant I had little choice but to join the Mafia.
'When I was a kid it was normal for everyone to keep guns in the house for self protection.
'There wasn't much work around, most kids tended to drop out of school early and get caught up in crime.
'My parents feared I'd be drawn to the money and power."
Riccardo's parents set up a restaurant business in Southend and he says coming to the UK was "a huge shock.'
'I didn't speak a word of English but suddenly I found myself in an all boys' school in Essex having to eat something disgusting called custard. I could not believe how bad the food was," he says.
Italian police arrest Settimo Mineo, the mafia's new 'boss of bosses' in Sicily
'There was a lot of racism towards foreigners back then and I was called every name under the sun and beaten up in the playground almost daily.
'But if I had stayed in Sicily it would have been worse. I'm certain I would have ended up in prison - or dead.
"The Mafia is an ugly cancer that destroys families. We needed to get well away before I ended up in prison myself.
'My parents' decision to start a new life in another country saved my life, without any doubt.'
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Deadly family
Riccardo has cousins serving time for murders, while other members of his close family have been involved in kidnapping and extortion.
Some were also tangled up even the Capaci massacre - a violent terrorist attack in which mafiosi detonated a car bomb that killed the anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three police guards in 1992.
It was one of the most terrifying attacks ever executed by the Mafia and the international outrage it sparked marked a crucial turning point in the fight against organised crime in Italy.
But, two months later, it was followed by the Via D'Amelio massacre in Palermo, killing a second judge, Paulo Borsellino, and five bodyguards.
The murdered prosecutors had been at the forefront of a crackdown in organised crime in Sicily which led to the notorious Maxi Trial, which ran for six years and saw 19 life sentences handed to crime bosses and a further 338 members of the mob sentenced to a total of 2,665 years.
Salvatore 'Toto' Riina - known as 'the Boss of Bosses' - was sentenced to two life sentences in absentia and ordered the assassination of the judges in retribution. He was captured and jailed in 1993 after 23 years as a fugitive.
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Riccardo's family also fell foul of Sicily's anti-Mafia crackdown.
In 2016, authorities seized over €4 million in assets from Giuseppe Burzotta and his family, including a sitting councillor.
But the murders continued.
In 2017 Guiseppe Marciano, a known associate of Riccardo's family, was shot in the head.
Killers ambushed him in a Fiat Uno and although the car was burnt to destroy any evidence, Marciano's father in law Pino Burzotta - Riccardo's second cousin - was later arrested.
If I had stayed in Sicily it would have been worse. I'm certain I would have ended up in prison - or dead.
Riccardo di Burzotta
Pino's brother Diego Burzotta, a notorious hitman, was already serving a life sentence for the double murder of Giovanni Ingoglia and Salvatore Guccione, killed between 1982 and 1987.
He was also sentenced to nine years for Mafia association and for attacking vice commissioner Rino Germanà, who escaped death after a daring chase by the clan's hitmen in 1992.
Another cousin, Luca Burzotta, was convicted of Mafia association and Pietro, was acquitted of a similar charge due to contradictory testimony from witnesses.
Now a father of four himself, Riccardo has no contact with his Sicilian clan but has revealed the truth about his family's dark past to his own children.
'They were shocked when I told them about my childhood," he says.
'We go back to Sicily for holidays but I never speak to my cousins.
"I nod if I see them in the street but that's as far as it goes.
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'We've all been warned to stay away from them - any contact could mean an automatic prison sentence.
"Many of my cousins have been involved in gambling rackets and extortion, meaning any shops or business that didn't pay them protection money would go up in flames.
'It's too risky to associate with them.
"I hear about more arrests every day - members of my family and old friends I went to school with, it is beyond me how far they were willing to go.
'I plan to keep my own kids well away from it but I don't hide anything from them.
'They understand their heritage and it's important to teach them the value of who they are but I want them to keep on a straight path and understand that not all Sicilians are mafioso.'
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Food for thought
Riccardo's move to the UK, at the age of 12, allowed him to forge his own path away from crime.
Although he hated the British weather and could not stand the food, Riccardo kept his head down, stayed out of trouble and did well at school.
He helped out in his parents' Italian restaurant in Southend, learnt to speak fluent English and Spanish, excelled at Maths and History, and landed a job in a City stockbroking firm.
He said: 'That was like winning the lottery, a real eye opener.
'I was earning great money, travelling the world and loving the fast lifestyle.'
Now 48, Riccardo remains on a mission to distance himself from the stigma of his surname.
He has retired from finance and is focusing on encouraging entrepreneurial young Sicilians to choose a career in food.
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He says: 'My family's name is a burden, but it's also a responsibility. I want to show that we can choose a different path.
'We can't let the mistakes of our fathers define our children's future. Sicily's youth deserve more than the shadow of the Mafia.
'Change starts at the table. If we can break bread together, we can break the cycle.'
Although police are working to dismantle Mafia control in Sicily, investigators warn that intimidation and corruption persist.
And the statistics are daunting.
Mafia activity has cost Sicily billions in lost economic potential.
Anti-Mafia organisations estimate that extortion and racketeering have siphoned off up to two per cent of Sicily's GDP each year.
In just one 2018 crackdown, police arrested 58 people from 16 Mafia families, seizing €11 million in assets.
The Mafia's stranglehold has deterred investors, stifled innovation, and driven away the island's brightest young minds.
Youth unemployment in Sicily stands at a staggering 37 per cent, nearly double the Italian national average.
Every year, tens of thousands of young Sicilians leave in search of opportunity, draining the island of talent and hope.
A new generation
Riccardo believes the antidote to this malaise is teaching entrepreneurial young Sicilians to cook, run businesses, and celebrate their heritage.
He hopes to foster a new generation of entrepreneurs through his campaign, Mobster Munch, which aims to munch away Sicily's mobster past and dish out a future built on celebrating food and family.
He was inspired to help Sicily's youth by his own grandmother who, amid the violence and secrecy, preserved traditional culinary skills.
Although she was a matriarch to mobsters, Leone Malda Burzotta also taught Riccardo how to cook her original Sicilian recipes.
'Sicily's youth deserve to inherit the recipes, the laughter, and the hope my grandmother gave me," added Riccardo.
'Food brings people together. Family gives us strength.
'We can't let the mistakes of our fathers define our children's future.'
As part of his campaign he will host pop-up feasts, cooking classes, and food festivals across Sicily and the UK.
The message is simple but powerful - every bite is a step away from the Mafia's grip, and a step towards a future built on honest work where crime once ruled.
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