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2024-03-29T08:35:16Z
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Profile of Cosa Nostra boss Bernardo Provenzano
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/cosa-nostra-boss-bernardo
2013-05-21T19:00:00.000Z
2013-05-21T19:00:00.000Z
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<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9236982066,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /><br /> By David Amoruso<br /> Posted in 2006 - Updated in 2016</p>
<p><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cosa-nostra-boss-of-bosses-bernardo-provenzano-dead-at-83">Cosa Nostra boss of bosses Bernardo Provenzano dead at 83</a></strong><br /> <br /> Bernardo Provenzano was born on January 31, 1933 in Corleone, Sicily. After the second World War Provenzano joined the Mafia Family of boss Michele Navarra and became an enforcer for Luciano Leggio in that Family. In a short time Provenzano and another young man named Toto Riina, who would later become known as one of the most vicious Mafia bosses ever, became Leggio's most trusted enforcers. They were feared and had a reputation. Leggio said of Provenzano: "he has the brains of a chicken but shoots like an angel". He also gained the nickname "The Tractor", because "he mows people down". With people like Riina and Provenzano and his own fearsome reputation Leggio grew more powerful and eventuelly became a threat to Navarra. Navarra acknowledged the threat and decided it was time to eliminate Leggio so he could continue his rule. Navarra sent a group of his men to ambush Leggio and whack him, they failed and only wounded him, with the help of Riina he escaped. Now it was Leggio's turn to strike. He put together a group of hitmen, which included Provenzano and Riina, to take out Navarra. And Leggio's group of hitmen succeeded where Navarra's men failed, Leggio's group ambushed Navarra while he was driving back from a meeting. The group of young assassins riddled the car in which Navarra sat with bullets. In the end the car was pumped with 112 bulletholes and Navarra and another person who happened to be along for the ride were dead. With Navarra out of the way Luciano Leggio became the new Godfather.<br /> <br /> Navarra's death made a lot of Mafiosi unhappy and not only because they lost an ally but also because it was a breach of the Mafia code that you didn't whack your boss. These Mafiosi as well as Navarra supporters who wanted to avenge their boss made it very dangerous for Leggio and his two enforcers Provenzano and Riina. In the early 1960s the heat became too much for Provenzano, sensing that he would soon be arrested or whacked he took off and disappeared in the countryside of Sicily. While he was on the run he became the father of his two sons and spent his days looking over his shoulder. The Italian authorities had declared him a missing person and eventually thought he was whacked and his body would soon be found. But they couldn't be further from the truth. While on the run Provenzano had continued his criminal career, a career that came to new heights when his old pal Toto Riina became the new boss. While Riina took care of the violent aspect of mob business and stept into the front, Provenzano was hidden taking care of the money aspect of mob business. Provenzano made sure everybody paid and all the Mafiosi got their share.<br /> <br /> As the drug money came flowing in a powerstruggle started over who was to control it. Riina went on a rampage in a war that would leave 800 Mafiosi dead. And when the government decided that it was enough and started cracking down on the Mafia Riina hit back. Two top prosecutors were killed by bombs. Anyone who opposed was found dead. The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mafia-state-trial-exposes-italy-s-corrupt-political-system">campaign of terror</a> that was supposed to scare off the people and government had the opposite effect, the government went on even harder and the public was now in their favour. The people had seen the brutal image of the Mafia and were sickened by it. As the hunt for Riina became more intense Provenzano was still hidden from everybody and presumed dead. When in 1992 his wife and children returned from the countryside and back in the open, talk about Provenzano's death flared up. However without a body who could be sure.<br /> <br /> On January 15, 1993 in Palermo, Sicily <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cosa-nostra-boss-salvatore">Toto Riina</a> was arrested by Italian police. The arrest of Riina placed Provenzano at the top of a criminal empire under fire by competition and law enforcement, changes needed to be made. Under Provenzano the Sicilian Mafia steered away from it's terror tactics towards the government and went back into the underworld. Out of sight the Mafia restructured, returning to it's roots. Under Provenzano the Sicilian Mafia had once again become the invisible power and had expanded it's interests while keeping clear from law enforcement. Provenzano commanded his troops via cryptic, handwritten notes transported by key members. There were occasional visits and very occasional summits with Mafia leaders, but otherwise Provenzano was a ghost, presumed dead but feared to be running the most powerful Sicilian Mafia in decades. Police believed he spent most of his time in western and central Sicily going from one safe house to the other. In January of 2001 police intercepted several letters by Provenzano to his family. Proof that he was still very alive. The letters were as close as police got to Provenzano he seemed unfindable. While other bosses and Mafiosi had been caught one by one Provenzano had now been on the run for over 40 years.<br /> <br /> Then on April 11, 2006 the unbelievable news broke: Bernardo Provenzano had been captured. Provenzano was arrested while hiding in a farmhouse near Corleone in Sicily. Authorities said their lucky break came when they tracked a package (it turned out to be clean laundry) that had been sent to Provenzano by his wife, who lived in Corleone. Provenzano put up no resistance and acknowledged his identity after first denying it. He appeared surprised to be caught, police said. He was flown to Palermo and taken to the main police station there.<br /> <br /> Provenzano will live the last years of his life in prison. He had been sentenced in absentia to life in prison for more than a dozen murders including the murders of anti Mafia magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.<br /> <br /> <strong>Also read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/italian-prison-too-tough-on-mafia-boss-provenzano">Italian Prison Too Tough On Mafia Boss Provenzano?</a></strong></p>
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Italian Prison Too Tough On Mafia Boss Provenzano?
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/italian-prison-too-tough-on-mafia-boss-provenzano
2013-05-21T11:43:40.000Z
2013-05-21T11:43:40.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/italian-prison-too-tough-on-mafia-boss-provenzano"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237018883,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237018883?profile=original" width="524" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Are Italian authorities too harsh on imprisoned Cosa Nostra boss Bernardo Provenzano? His lawyer and family say yes. In video clips aired by Michele Santoro’s Servizio pubblico, or public affairs program, on television network LA7, viewers see an old and vulnerable Provenzano, who is unable even to use the prison telephone.</p>
<p>Provenzano is credited with bringing the Sicilian Mafia back to power after its power had crumbled under the leadership of Salvatore Riina. He did so while in hiding and spent forty-three years evading authorities and escaping justice until his capture in 2006.</p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9237018673,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237018673,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237018673?profile=original" width="320" /></a>After his arrest in 2006, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cosa-nostra-boss-bernardo">Provenzano</a> began serving life under the 41-bis maximum security regime in a prison in the city of Parma in the north of Italy (right). This prison regime was one of the reasons Provenzano’s predecessor <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cosa-nostra-boss-salvatore">Salvatore “Toto” Riina</a> decided to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mafia-state-trial-exposes-italy-s-corrupt-political-system">wage war</a> on the Italian state.</p>
<p>The video clips, taken from surveillance cameras inside Parma prison, come a month after a request by Provenzano’s lawyer Rosalba Di Gregorio for his immediate release from the harsh regime on health grounds was denied. According to his family the video proves their father and husband is not treated well and is in need of better care.</p>
<p>Provenzano’s frail health has been a recurring topic. A year ago, the imprisoned mob boss tried to commit suicide by placing a plastic bag over his head. Prison authorities claimed the attempt was part of an elaborate plot of the Mafioso to try and make himself look insane. And in December of last year, he needed surgery to reduce bleeding on his brain caused by a fall.</p>
<p>Check out the video below and see how the most powerful mafia boss in the world is faring behind bars:</p>
<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UYhwA6xnK10?wmode=opaque" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
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Another Boss Of Bosses Falls From Grace
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/another-boss-of-bosses-falls
2010-11-19T13:04:53.000Z
2010-11-19T13:04:53.000Z
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<div><div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Salvatore Lo Piccolo Arrested</span><br />
<p style="text-align:center;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}9236984687,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
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<p><br /> By David Amoruso<br /> Posted on November 25, 2007<br /> <br /> <img style="float:right;" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9236984701,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" />On November 5, 2007 forty police men gathered around a Palermo house. They had information that the current boss of bosses of Cosa Nostra was inside. That man was Salvatore Lo Piccolo (photo on the right), 65, who had become the ultimate Cosa Nostra boss after the arrest of Bernardo Provenzano in April 2006. When police entered the house they hit the lottery. Lo Piccolo was there, together with his son, Sandro, the reputed underboss of the family, and Andrea Adamo and Gaspare Pulizzi, two lower-level Cosa Nostra leaders. When police arrested Lo Piccolo, his son repeatedly shouted "I love you papa." Italy's Anti-Mafia Prosecutor Piero Grasso told Italian media the following: "Salvatore Lo Piccolo was the only one able to take up Provenzano's mantle. He was the top man in Palermo and was scaling the peak of the organisation. This exceptional result is a big step forward in our fight against Cosa Nostra. Cosa Nostra has no more leadership. Today it is an organisation without structure that can no longer move except with difficulty."<br /> <br /> The arrest of Lo Piccolo is a huge win for Italy's anti-mafia squad. His arrest, as well as the arrest of Provenzano, shows that the layer of political protection Cosa Nostra enjoyed for so many years is crumbling. This, combined with the increasing number of pentiti, means that Cosa Nostra is under heavy attack. Lo Piccolo had been a fugitive for almost a quarter century when he was arrested on Nov. 5. During that entire time he probably never left Sicily. That would mean several things: of course that he was a very smart and cautious man, but also that the layer of protection was intact and working. His arrest sends a clear message to Mafia bosses in Italy: we will find you, arrest you, and put you in prison.<br /> <br /> <img style="float:right;" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9236985473,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" />Inside Lo Piccolo's safe-house police found a cache of documents, cash and weapons, including a police-issue hand gun. The documents were of most interest. The documents found contained information about mafia families and the mafia's codes and rules. The codes and rules are well known by most people familiar with mafia books, but still it is a major breach of protocol to carry lists with mafia information. Cosa Nostra turncoat Antonino Caldarone has said it is forbidden to write down anything about the structure of Cosa Nostra, calling it life threatening to do so. These documents led to more arrests. On Nov. 13 ten associates of Lo Piccolo were arrested on charges of extortion, drug trafficking, illegal arms possession and money laundering. This could put Lo Piccolo in a very difficult position within Cosa Nostra, and clear the way for his main rival even more. That rival is Matteo Messina Denaro.<br /> <br /> Matteo Messina Denaro is known as a playboy boss. He drives fast cars and loves beautiful women. He is also known as a vicious killer, who allegedly murdered more than fifty people. As a fugitive he has maintained and increased his power, and according to the FBI is now one of the biggest drug dealers in the world. With Lo Piccolo arrested and disgraced by the documents he kept, Denaro could finally seize control. Unless he too is arrested before he can leave his mark on Sicilian Cosa Nostra.<br /> </p>
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Italian Police Are Closing in on Cosa Nostra Boss
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/italian-police-are-closing-in
2010-11-10T18:17:38.000Z
2010-11-10T18:17:38.000Z
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<div><p>By David Amoruso<br /> Posted on June 28, 2009<br /> <br /> <img style="float:right;" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9236975875,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" />Italian authorities are closing in on Cosa Nostra boss Matteo Messina Denaro (47). In one week, police in Italy and Venezuela arrested over a dozen men who are all being accused of helping Denaro run his criminal operations. By the end of the week even Denaro’s (photo on the right) most valuable drug contact had been put in handcuffs.<br /> <br /> On Saturday June 20th a joint operation by Venezuelan and Italian police netted authorities Salvatore Miceli (63). Miceli was arrested late in the evening when he came out of a hotel in Caracas. He was listed as one of Italy’s most wanted fugitives, and, according to Italian police, is one of Europe’s top five drug traffickers. Miceli operated as a middle-man between South American drug cartels and the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, and Sicilian Cosa Nostra. As such, he was of utmost value to the Italian Mafia groups. Especially to Matteo Messina Denaro, who is a big drug trafficker and rumored to be the new Sicilian “boss of bosses” since the arrests of Bernardo Provenzano and Salvatore Lo Piccolo.<br /> <br /> On June 16, Italian police had already arrested thirteen men who are accused of carrying out Denaro’s orders and providing him with false passports and other documents. Most of the men were arrested in the Sicilian province Trapani, which is Denaro’s base of operations. "He's the last of the great fugitives," said Giuseppe Linares, the top police official in Trapani. "This operation strikes at his breeding ground and allows us to understand the essential structure" that is protecting him.<br /> <br /> Denaro has been a fugitive for sixteen years. During those sixteen years, his reputation has grown to epic proportions. He once said that he had filled a cemetery all by himself. According to Italian magazine L’Espresso he committed his first murder at the age of eighteen and is currently a suspect in over fifty murders. It all came natural as he simply followed in his father’s footsteps.<br /> <br /> <img style="float:left;" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9236976284,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" />The young boss is idolized by the new generation of Mafiosi, who respect his ruthlessness and charisma. It is widely believed that Denaro is not hiding out in a shanty barn like his predecessor Bernardo Provenzano (photo on the left) had done. Instead, Italian police found evidence that he had visited Austria, Greece, Spain, and Venezuela. These visits are alleged to have been part of his drug smuggling and money laundering operations. Though he is not all business. He is also a playboy, who enjoys beautiful women, fine wine, and fast cars. A big contrast with Provenzano who lived like a monk.<br /> <br /> With these recent arrests Italian police are trying to break down Denaro’s support system, like they had done to Provenzano a few years ago. When the boss his soldiers are taken away, it forces the boss to come out of hiding to take care of business. Business he normally would have left in the hands of his underlings. As soon as Denaro steps out of the shadows, police will be waiting with a shiny pair of handcuffs. <br /> </p>
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Cosa Nostra Bosses Pledge Loyalty to the End
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/cosa-nostra-bosses-pledge
2010-11-10T16:25:52.000Z
2010-11-10T16:25:52.000Z
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<div><p>By Puparo and David Amoruso<br /> Posted on November 5, 2007<br /> <br /> At the end of August some very interesting news reached the world press. Two of the most violent and powerful Cosa Nostra leaders exchanged their wedding rings when one moved to the other's prison cell. To most in the media this ring exchange could only mean one thing: An end to the peace between Cosa Nostra and the Italian state. The Sicilian Mafia has spent decades fighting the state by killing politicians, judges, cops, and journalists. The war against the state eventually started working against Cosa Nostra when the public started to condemn them. Bernardo Provenzano, the boss of bosses at the time, declared a stop in the war on the state. He saw that the state started to increase the pressure, and more and more Mafiosi were being arrested, several becoming pentiti (informers/witnesses). As the famous saying goes: "The war was bad for business." Cosa Nostra went back to making money and regrouping after the heavy assault by the state.<br /> <br /> On April 11, 2006 Bernardo Provenzano was arrested, after having spent over four decades on the run. All that time he was hiding in Sicily. Provenzano has been convicted in absentie of several murders, including those of anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, and was sentenced to life in prison. His arrest fueled rumors about an internal mafia war for the top position. There was also some speculation about what direction the new bosses would take. Would the peace continue?<br /> <br /> <img style="float:left;" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9236991860,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" />The top mafiosi were all serving hard time in prison under the 41bis regime. Section 41bis of the Prisons Act is intended for the most dangerous inmates. It is intended to cut them off from all contact with their associates on the outside, and even inside the prison. In 2002 Leoluca Bagarella (photo on the left), the brother in law, and successor of boss of bosses Toto Riina, made his feelings about 41bis clear during a court appearance. He told the court that the mafiosi serving time under 41bis were "tired of being used, humiliated, oppressed and treated like merchandise by different political parties." When a man like Leoluca Bagarella utters these words it sends shivers down the back of many politicians. Many in the media took his words as a threat to the state. Bagarella is thought to have been involved in hundreds of murders, including those of cops and politicians. His words are not to be taken lightly.<br /> <br /> So when Bagarella exchanged wedding rings with Nitto Santapaola, the boss of the Catania mafia family, in prison it could only mean one thing, an end to the days of peace between the mafia and the state. But what if the wedding ring exchange signals the beginning of a different war. A war against the returning "losers" of the great mafia war of the 1980s.<br /> <br /> The war was started by the Cosa Nostra family from Corleone, led by the vicious Luciano Liggio. Pentito Antonino Calderone said the following about Liggio: "He was blood thirsty. He enjoyed killing. He had a way of looking at you that frightened everyone. Even us Mafiosi. When he became angry a strange light appeared in his eyes, which made everyone around him become silent. During those silent moments you could sense that death was in the air." Liggio had two men who helped him run the family. Those men were Salvatore Riina and Bernardo Provenzano. These two were also known for their ruthless behaviour. The Corleonesi were a very secretive mafia family, who used the rules of Cosa Nostra when it suited them, and broke those rules even more. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s they went on a secret rampage to seize control of the Sicilian Mafia. They made new members, keeping their names secret from the other families. And also had informants within other Mafia families. Slowly they became stronger and stronger, until no other mafia family could stop them. Several families would join the Corleonesi. The families that didn't, were hit with heavy losses. Sensing they were on the losing side many mafiosi fled abroad to the US, Canada, Spain, and South America. Several continued their business there, awaiting the day when they could return to Sicily.<br /> <br /> The losers who are said to be returning to Sicily are members of the Inzerillo family from Palermo who fled to the US. Boss Salvatore Inzerillo was a major drug trafficker and was killed by the Corleonesi in 1981. At his funeral his 15 year old son vowed to avenge his father. As a result he was taken off the street by Corleonesi killer Pino Greco, who cut off the kid's arm, and shot him in the head. The Inzerillo family is closely linked to the Spatola, Di Maggio, and Gambino families, who are major players on the narcotics market. With the Corleonesi clan weakened by the capture of Bernardo Provenzano, the "losing" families might sense that this is the time to return. They lost many family members and friends during the war with the Corleonesi, so they surely will want revenge.<img style="float:right;" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9236979466,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /><br /> <br /> This is what could worry men like Leoluca Bagarella and Nitto Santapaola (photo on the right). Both men are responsible for hundreds of murders. Santapaola is the boss of the small Catania family. In his fight for control of the city Catania he murdered scores of young gangsters who belonged to one of the many gangs in Catania. Santapaola also had no problem ordering the killing of children no older than twelve. In the mid 1970s Santapaola's mother was robbed by four streetkids. Nitto Santapaola wanted this disrespect avenged and thus ordered the four children to be killed. Like former Catania Mafioso Antonino Calderone says in his book, as a Mafioso you are always worried if the son of one of your victims will avenge his father's death by killing one of your family members. With the return of the "losing" families new agreements and bonds have to be made in order to face the attack. That is what the ring exchange could be about. Confirming the bond between two vicious clans to protect their family and territory. </p>
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