In 1973, Mutolo was initiated into the Partanna-Mondello family headed by Rosario Riccobono. ""When I became a member, it was for me a new life, with new rules. For me only Cosa Nostra existed"," he later recalled. He became the right-hand man of Riccobono and Riina’s trusted man for delicate missions. In 1976 and 1982, Mutolo was arrested again, and during one of his sojourns in prison, he became the cellmate of the old boss of the Corleonesi, Luciano Leggio (later he claimed that he had painted the pictures that are attributed to Leggio).