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Wanted posters for the Mafia’s
“boss of bosses” Bernardo Provenzano
appeared in Palermo in 2005. They
were based on a 1959 mugshot – the
only photo of him then in existence.New laws
On 31 January 1992, the Italian
Supreme Court overturned Judge
Carnevale’s verdict, marking an
unprecedented victory for the anti-
Mafia cause in Italy. However, it
drew a furious response from the
Corleonesi. On 23 May 1992,
Falcone and his wife were
murdered in a car bomb attack.
Paolo Borsellino and five members
of his escort were murdered two
months later by another bomb.
At this point, the government
finally decided that enough was
enough. They sent 7,000 soldiers
to Sicily to take charge of day-to-
day police duties, which freed up
local forces to hunt down Riina and
his men. The police were granted
legal powers to infiltrate the Mafia
and set up sting operations
involving fake drug deals and
money laundering. A significant
new law also helped to protect
informants by enabling them to
change their identities.ORGANIZED CRIME
Mafiosi informants
This law was passed at the perfect
time. In the wake of the Court of
Cassation’s verdict, many mafiosi
became informants. Based upon
information provided by a captured
mafioso, Riina was caught in 1993.
Leadership of the Mafia passed to
Leoluca Bagarella – who was, in
turn, arrested in 1995 – and then
to Bernardo Provenzano.
The anti-Mafia efforts of the
1980s and early 1990s practically
castrated the Cosa Nostra.Provenzano wielded very little
power, and the organization
decentralized. Local Mafia leaders
returned to small-time protection
rackets, which were less profitable
but allowed them to operate in
relative secrecy.
On 11 April 2006, after an
extensive manhunt, Provenzano
was finally captured. In the years
since, the Mafia has laid low,
unlikely ever to be as powerful as
they were during the second half
of the 20th century. ■Giovanni Falcone A self-described “servant of the
state in the land of infidels,”
Judge Giovanni Falcone, more
than any other politician before
him, fearlessly and dutifully set
about crushing the Sicilian Mafia.
Through his conversations
with informant Tomasso Buscetta,
he became the first Italian
government official to learn about
and document the structure of
the Sicilian Mafia. When Falcone
was targeted and killed by a
Mafia bomb on 23 May 1992,
along with his wife and three
police officers, he was hailed as a
hero to the Italian people.Sicilians hung bedsheets from
their windows emblazoned with
“Falcone lives”, and a tree
outside his house was quickly
transformed into a shrine
adorned with photographs,
flowers, and messages to the
statesman who had exposed
the Mafia.
Palermo’s airport was even
renamed Falcone–Borsellino
Airport in honour of Falcone and
his friend Paolo Borsellino, a
fellow anti-Mafia judge who
was murdered in a similar car
bombing incident in Palermo
just two months after Falcone.138-145_Sicilian_Mafia.indd 145 02/12/2016 14:43