Bernardo Provenzano
Sicilian Mafiosi
Died when: 83 years 164 days (1001 months)Star Sign: Aquarius
Bernardo Provenzano (Italian pronunciation: [ber'nardo proven'tsa?no]; 31 January 1933 – 13 July 2016) 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." 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.
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 was captured in 1993, and Leoluca Bagarella in 1995, both having been sentenced in absentia at the Maxi Trial in the mid-1980s to life imprisonment for ordering multiple murders, including 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.