Bernardo Provenzano: biography, family and interesting facts

Bernardo Provenzano was the representative of the Sicilian Mafia. For a long time he was the head of the clan of Corleonezi and was considered the godfather of the goat nostra. He managed to hide for forty years, living and leading all business on his native island. It was possible to arrest him only on the seventy-third year of life thanks to a large-scale operation lasting about a year.

Famous Mafiosi Nicknames

During his life, Bernardo Provenzano had several nicknames, which entrenched him during his years in the ranks of the Italian mafia. At the beginning of the road, it was often called the Bulldozer or Tractor Binn. This was due to his character, so intractable and uncompromising he was, performing murders for his boss.

Another nickname, Accountant, appeared later. It is related to how mildly and skillfully Provenzano approached the management of his own criminal world when he himself became a boss.

The beginning of the way

Bernardo Provenzano was born on January 31, 1933 in Corleone. He was the third child in the family of the peasant Angelo Provencano. After finishing primary school, the boy stopped training and began to work with his father.

At the age of twenty-one he was drafted into military service, but was soon sacked for medical reasons.

Even in his early years, Bernardo committed minor crimes and joined the Mafia clan of Corleonez. The boss of this group was Michele Navarre. However, in the mafia family the conflict over the ambitions of Luciano Ledzho ripened. Bernardo chooses the side of the ambitious Legjo and in 1958, along with other killers, kills Navarro. The head of Corleonezi is Luciano Leggio. Provenzano's work was the physical elimination of supporters of the former boss.

In 1963 Provenzano was accused of murder and issued a warrant for his arrest. Since then, he began to hide from justice. He managed to do this until 2006.

Work on Salvatore Riina

In 1974, Luciano Legjo was accused of murder and arrested. Salvatore Riina comes to power. At this time, Bernardo Provenzano became the deputy and the right hand of the boss. He began to manage the financial affairs of the clan, including trafficking in heroin.

In the early eighties of the twentieth century, there was a second mafia war, as a result of which Riina rose above the rest of the families of Sicily. During the conflict between the clans more than a thousand Mafiosi died. Whether Bernardo had anything to do with this is not known.

In 1993, the head of the Korleonezi clan was arrested. He received a life sentence. His receiver was Bernardo.

Correspondence arrest and leadership of the clan

In absentia, Bernardo Provenzano was also sentenced to prison. His biography was full of various crimes. But he was extremely cautious and skillfully hiding. Only the people closest to him knew about his whereabouts. He did not use the telephone to conduct business. His orders he passed through short notes, which were called "pizzini".

The new Provenzano mafia

When the Italian mafia Bernardo Provenzano became the godfather of the Sicilian mafia, he did not conduct mass attacks to revenge the local authorities for the onslaught on his group. He acted more flexibly, taking measures to strengthen his influence on various state and financial structures.

Having come to power, he was able to restore the old principles of the Mafia, which in due time abolished Riina. What principles were guided by Bernardo Provenzano?

7 rules, according to which lived the famous mafia:

1. Disappearance - consists in temporary care, if the company's affairs go badly. This will get rid of negative characteristics, for example, "experiencing difficulties."
2. Mediation - you need to be able to negotiate skillfully. This implied calmness, perseverance, correctness in the sound of thoughts, the use of several sources of information.
3. Consensus - the Mafia, in the understanding of Provenzano, should be presented to people as a positive part of society.
4. God must be on our side - Provenzano read and read the Holy Scripture. He believed that people would trust the goat nostra if his subordinates showed piety, piety, respectfulness. For this, he sent copies of the Bible to them.
5. To be politically flexible is the opportunity to change the political union, if it is useful for the cause.
6. Rethinking is the ability to distance oneself from unsuccessful deeds and scandals, so that it is not associated with a name.
7. Modesty - Provenzano was able to break out of the Bulldozer into a strategist and leader. He achieved much because of his ability to seem more stupid than he really is.

However, all these rules could not save him from arrest. Although he managed to hide for quite some time, namely forty-three years.

The arrest of 2006

For many, it was unclear how a criminal could hide on a relatively small island, which was Sicily, such a long period of time. Most likely, what has happened here is not covered by the authorities. Otherwise, the Mafia would have a shorter biography.

Bernardo Provenzano even visited France in 2002 to have an operation on the prostate in a hospital in the city of Marseilles. According to the documents found, the procedure was paid for by the National Italian Healthcare System. The fact that Bernardo was a patient in a French clinic was testified by DNA tests.

Large-scale hunting for the mafia boss began in 2005. More than a hundred representatives and accomplices of the mafia were arrested, but Provenzano could not be seized. The case was hampered by the fact that the police did not have a photo of the criminal. The only picture was from the sixties of the twentieth century. To obtain an exemplary fotobot, the existing image was aged using a computer program.

A large-scale campaign gave its results, and on 11/04/2006 the mafia boss was seized near his hometown of Corleone. The event was a real sensation.

The trial was not held in the Provenzano case, since several times he was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia. He was placed in the prison of the city of Terni. He was isolated from the world and could only see his lawyer, and the camera was under constant surveillance.

Successor

The arrest of Provenzano provoked in the press guesses about who would become the successor of the mafia boss. The main contenders were considered Salvatore Lo Piccolo, Matteo Messina Denaro, Domenico Raccula.

There is a suggestion that the way of management in the world of the Mafiosi has changed, and the leadership is engaged not in one person, but in a whole group. Although among them there must be a boss who could quench internal disputes.

Most agree that the main successor and current boss is Matteo Messina Denaro, who is on the run.

Death of the Mafia

Bernardo Provenzano, whose biography and family is associated with the Sicilian mafia, died July 13, 2016 in Milan (St. Peter's Hospital). The cause of death of the eighty-year-old former leader of the goat's nostril was bladder cancer.

Interesting Facts

• In 2008, the series "The Last Patron" was released in Italy, which tells of the events that took place several years before the capture of the "Godfather" in 2006. The main role went to Michele Placido. The film is difficult to recommend to everyone, it's more for the interested viewer. The plot will be understandable only to those who are interested in the world of the Sicilian Mafia and who is a fan of the Placido actor's play.
• The arrest of the "godfather" was carried out, tracing the delivery of clean linen to an abandoned farm, which was located near the hometown of the fugitive. The road that leads to the house was named after the arrest of the Mafiosi. Many tourists take a photo from the sign that stands at the entrance to the city.
• Bernardo Provenzano, whose children could see their father in prison only once a month, was married to Saveria. His sons are Angelo and Paolo.