Michele Navarra
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Michaele Navarra (1905 - 1958)

Dottore Michaele (Michele) "Michael Maria Joseph" Navarra
Born in Corleone, Palermo, Italymap
Ancestors ancestors
Brother of , , , , [private brother (1910s - unknown)] and [private sister (1910s - unknown)]
Husband of — married 23 Feb 1936 (to 2 Aug 1958) in Corleone, Palermo, Italymap
[children unknown]
Died at age 53 in Corleone, Palermo, Italymap
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Profile last modified | Created 10 Nov 2015
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Biography

Michaele Navarra is born in Corleone on 5 January 1905 and baptized eight days later as Michael Maria Joseph. He is the son of Giuseppe Navarra and Caterina di Miceli. His godparents are Leoluca di Palermo and Biagia Salpietra, a married couple.[1] His godfather is his third cousin, once removed.

He is confirmed a Catholic in the church in Corleone in 1909. His sponsor is Francesco Puccio.[2]

La Sorte writes, "Michele came from a comfortable middle-class family. His father, a teacher and small landowner, hobnobbed with the social and political elite in the town of Corleone.....

"His father's family had no Mafia antecedents. However, Dr. Navarra was related by marriage to the Riela family, some of whose members were part of the Corleone cosca. He would rise to the position of capocosca (head of the local mafia) in the 1930s."[3]

Giuliano Riela, a known member of Mafia leadership around 1900, is married to Salvatrice Cascio, whose maternal grandmother is also a Cascio, and the aunt of Don Antonino, Michele's maternal aunt's husband.

Michele is a medical doctor, and a member of the "Fratuzzi," the Mafia in Corleone. "His practice covered a large section of the nearby Ficuzza forest, a perfect place to hide and butcher stolen livestock and from there take them to the Palermo wholesale market."[3]

A margin note on his baptismal record as well as the marriage indices indicate that Michele marries on 23 February 1936 in Corleone with Tommasa Cascio, his first cousin, and daughter of the aforementioned Don Antonino Cascio and Rosalia Di Miceli.[4][1] Tommasa's baptismal record is possibly the one cited here, although there are no margin notes regarding her marriage to Michele. They are also half 3rd cousins through Rosalia Pennino and half 6th cousins twice removed through Antonina La Rosa.

He succeeds Calogero lo Bue as the acting boss of Corleone in 1943.[5] Don Calogero dies in 1953, making Navarra the formal leader of the local Mafia.

On 2 August 1958, Michele is assassinated along with another doctor (who is not known to be in the Mafia), possibly by Bernardo Provenzano and Toto Riina. Luciano Leggio succeeds Navarra as boss in Corleone. Riina succeeds Leggio in 1974 when he goes to prison.

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 Baptism of Michael Maria Joseph Navarra, record no. 19, 12 January 1905, "Italia, Palermo, Diocesi di Monreale, Registri Parrocchiali, 1531-1998," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-12350-69449-25?cc=2046915 : accessed 10 November 2015), Corleone > San Martino > Battesimi 1899-1905 > image 394 of 457; Archivio di Arcidiocesi di Palermo (Palermo ArchDiocese Archives, Palermo).
  2. "Italia, Palermo, Diocesi di Monreale, Registri Parrocchiali, 1531-1998," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11711-145457-23?cc=2046915 : accessed 21 March 2016), Corleone > San Martino > Cresime 1880-1913 > image 354 of 377; Archivio di Arcidiocesi di Palermo (Palermo ArchDiocese Archives, Palermo).
  3. 3.0 3.1 La Sorte, Mike. "Sicily and the Mafia, Part Three: Men of Honor, Omerta', and the Cosca." Accessed online at Rick Porrello's American Mafia.com on 9 January 2016.
  4. "Italia, Palermo, Diocesi di Monreale, Registri Parrocchiali, 1531-1998," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11580-176190-89?cc=2046915 : accessed 22 January 2016), Corleone > San Martino > Indice (Matrimoni) 1529-1951 > image 538 of 584; Archivio di Arcidiocesi di Palermo (Palermo ArchDiocese Archives, Palermo).
  5. «Fratuzzi», antenati di Liggio e Riina, La Sicilia, August 8, 2004. Accessed [http://www.cittanuove-corleone.it/La%20Sicilia,%20I%20fratuzzi%20di%20Corleone%2008.08.04pa03.pdf online] 16 November 2014.




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