Bernardo Provenzano | |
|---|---|
 Provenzano in 1959 | |
| Born | 31 January 1933 |
| Died | 13 July 2016 (aged 83) Milan, Italy |
| Other names | "Binnu u tratturi" (Bernie the tractor) "Zio Binnu" (Uncle Bernie) "Il ragioniere" (The accountant) |
| Occupation | Mafia boss |
| Criminal status | Deceased (imprisoned from 2006) |
| Children | 2 |
| Allegiance | Corleonesi |
| Conviction(s) | Mafia association multiple murder |
| Criminal charge | Mafia association multiple murders |
| Penalty | Life imprisonment |
Bernardo Provenzano (Italian pronunciation: [berˈnardo provenˈtsaːno]; 31 January 1933 – 13 July 2016)[1] was an Italian mobster and chief of the Sicilian Mafia clan known as the Corleonesi, a Mafia faction that originated in the town of Corleone, and de facto the boss of bosses ("il capo dei capi"). His nickname was Binnu u tratturi (Sicilian for "Bernie the tractor") because, in the words of one informant, "he mows people down".[2] Another nickname was il ragioniere ("the accountant"), due to his apparently subtle and low-key approach to running his crime empire, at least in contrast to some of his more violent predecessors.[2][3]
Provenzano was part of the Corleonesi Mafia clan who backed mob boss Luciano Leggio in the ambush and murder of Michele Navarra in the late 1950s. In 1963, Provenzano became a fugitive after a failed hit. Provenzano also participated in the Viale Lazio massacre in the late 1960s. Salvatore Riina succeeded Leggio in the mid-1970s, and Provenzano became the second-in-command of the Corleonesi. Provenzano took the reins after Riina and Bagarella's arrests, but the three had already been sentenced to life in absentia in the late 1980s as part of the Maxi Trial and in the 1990s for the two high-profile bombings (the Capaci massacre and Via D'Amelio massacre) that killed prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. After 43 years living as a fugitive, he was captured in 2006, and subjected to the stringent Article 41-bis prison regime until his death on 13 July 2016.
- ^ "Italian mafia boss 'The Tractor' dies". 13 July 2016. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- ^ a b Profile: Bernardo Provenzano Archived 29 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 11 April 2006.
- ^ Sicily's Invisible Man Archived 15 September 2005 at the Wayback Machine, Time Europe Magazine, 29 August 2004.