Bernardo Provenzano (1933 - 2016)

Born 31 Jan 1933 in Corleone, Palermo, Italy

Ancestors

Died 13 Jul 2016 at age 83 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy

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Biography

Bernardo Provenzano is born in Corleone on 31 January 1933, the son of Angelo Provenzano and Giovanna Rigoglioso. He is the third of seven brothers.^[1][2][3]

Sometime after WWII (in his late teens) Bernardo joins the Corleonesi mafia under Michele Navarra, where he becomes close to Luciano Leggio, with whom he allies when Leggio goes to war against Navarra in the mid-1950s. Bernardo participates in the ambush that kills Navarra in 1858.^[3]

From May 1963, he is on the run because of a failed hit on a man loyal to Navarra, and only secondarily because he (and two younger brothers, Simone and Salvatore) have been indicted.^[2] Bernardo becomes second in command to Toto Riina when Leggio goes to prison in 1974. He runs the Corleonesi mob after Riina’s arrest in 1993, though at this time no one had officially seen Provenzano since ‘63.^[3]

Bernardo has two children with Saveria Palazzolo, who is from a Mafia family in Cinisi^[3]: Angelo (c. 1967) and Paolo (c. 1972).^[4]

Extreme religiosity is one of Bernardo's odd traits, along with communicating with everyone through small handwritten notes. He is known by the nicknames "The Tractor" because of his extreme violence, and as "The Accountant" because of his relatively low-key character.^[3]

Indicted in 1963, he is finally captured in his 70s, on 11 April 2006, near Corleone. The police are able to find the Mafia boss through a delivery of clean laundry sent by his family, to the farmhouse where he was hiding.^[3]

Bernardo's death in jail at age 83 is reported on 13 July 2016 by the BBC.^[5] Bernardo dies in the San Paolo Hospital in Milan, where he was held for the last two years of his life under maximum security, due to health problems including cancer and Parkinson's.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Bernardo Provenzano obituary. (2016, July 14). The Guardian. Retrieved 20 June 2022 from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/14/bernardo-provenzano-obituary
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Zingales, Leone. "Provenzano: Il Re di Cosa Nostra." Accessed online 24 January 2016.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} Bernardo Provenzano. Wikipedia. Accessed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernardo_Provenzano 7 May 2016.
4. ↑ Carroll, Rory. "Gangster No 1." Accessed online 7 January 2016.
5. ↑ "Italian mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano, 83, dies in jail." Published 13 July 2016. Accessed at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36782555 on 13 July 2016.
6. ↑ Antonella Cinelli. "Notorious Italian mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano dead at 83." Published and accessed 13 July 2016 at http://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-mafia-provenzano-dead-idUSKCN0ZT16F.