THE Sicilian town of Corleone, linked to the Mafia by The Godfather films telling the story of the family of the same name, is trying to escape its past by urging a real-life don's son to leave.

Giuseppe Salvatore Riina returned home after six years in jail on Friday, decked out in designer clothes and dark glasses and carrying pastries for his mother. Released on a technicality after being jailed for extortion, money laundering and Mafia association, Mr Riina, 28, swaggered down the streets, greeting friends, as locals stared.

His return was condemned by the Mayor, Antonio Iannazzo, who insisted Corleone had changed since Mr Riina's father, Salvatore "The Beast" Riina, built a murderous Mafia empire in the 1970s and '80s.

"We don't want him here," the Mayor said. "Corleone does not forgive him and wants to push on with the process of change." He was backed by the town council.

Corleone has been transformed since Riina's arrest in 2002, reflecting the weakening of the Mafia after the arrests of the fugitive godfathers Bernardo Provenzano in 2006 and Salvatore Lo Piccolo last year. The two were successors to Mr Riina's father.