"The argument, of course, was that the trial should be moved to Rome; in fact, the judges decided it should remain in Palermo. As soon as it began, Fiandaca hastily wrote an "essay" with the historian Salvatore Lupo in which he retracted years of denial: having always referred to the negotiations as "so-called" and “alleged”, he admitted that "the negotiations did take place", but acquitted them on the grounds that they were "not criminally actionable" and "legally legitimate", inspired by a "state of necessity" and "for the greater good". That "good" which cost the lives of 16 people and the health of some forty others in the massacres of Via D’Amelio, Via dei Georgofili and Via Palestro. Collateral damage. And above all, no crime and no culprit."
January 1, 1970
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/State-Mafia_Pact