death of giovanni falcone - Tragic loss for italy

Giovanni Falcone was a leading figure in the fight against the Sicilian Mafia. He was eventually killed in 1992. His death shook Italy to its core. It also began a new era in the country's fight against organized crime.

Discover the events leading up to his tragic death and how his assassination affected the whole of Italy.

Giovanni Falcone (1939-1992)

Who Was Giovanni Falcone?

Giovanni Falcone was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. He is best known for his work against organized crime in Italy.

Falcone was born in Palermo, Sicily, in 1939. Many of his childhood friends later joined Cosa Nostra - a.k.a. the Sicilian Mafia.

Falcone did the opposite. The values he had gotten from his home made him choose a profession in law.

Castrofilippo District in Palermo, Sicily

Falcone was born in the Castrofilippo district in Palermo. (Photo: Dedda71 / Wikimedia Commons)

Falcone began his legal career as a prosecutor in the 70s. Later he worked closely with his fellow prosecutor Paolo Borselino.

Together with their investigators, they built strong cases against some of the most prominent members of Cosa Nostra.

Falcone also played a role in creating Italy's witness protection program. Without it, the truth about the Sicilian Mafia might have remained forever a secret.

Falcone's methods were groundbreaking in their time. No one had ever gone against the organization so effectively before.

All this resulted in the so-called Maxi Trial in the 80s. It was the most large-scale trial against the Sicilian Mafia in history.

Falcone's methods gained him national and international attention. He became famous for his relentless pursuit of justice.

His dedication to fighting organized crime led to his assassination in 1992.

After the initial shock, Falcone's murder inspired renewed efforts to fight against the Mafia and bring those responsible to justice.

Falcone's fellow prosecutor, Paolo Borsellino, was killed less than two months after him.

The Mafia's Grip on Sicily

The Mafia has a long history in Sicily. Its origins date back to the 19th century. Some aspects of it might go even further.

The organization took its model from the Freemasons. It had a hidden structure and a strict code of conduct. Pretty fast, it also took part in a wide range of criminal activities.

Mafia's "business model" includes extortion, racketeering, drug trafficking, and murder.

Confiscated drugs.

The Mafia had a firm grip on Sicilian society and politics. Many local politicians and police officers were on its payroll.

Or, at the very least, they turned a blind eye to the Mafia's activities.

Close ties to the Catholic Church further strengthened the organization's power.

All this changed for the better with Falcone, and even more so after his death. It was such a devastating blow to Italy that common opinion turned against the Mafia: Things had to change.

Today, Cosa Nostra is past its heyday. Still, it remains a powerful force in Sicilian society.

Falcone's Fight Against Organized Crime

Before Falcone, the official story was that the Mafia was just a bunch of disconnected bandits. In other words, law enforcement and government officials downplayed the organization.

Falcone used to say that the biggest failure in the fight against the Mafia was the underestimation of its intelligence.

By interviewing mafiosos, Falcone proved Cosa Nostra's secret and highly organized structure. He concluded that because of this, traditional law enforcement methods weren't enough to combat organized crime.

He and his team invented new investigation methods. These included using wiretaps and informants to gather evidence against the organization.

Falcone also understood the global nature of the Mafia. That's why international cooperation was also necessary to fight against it.

Falcone's team worked together with law enforcement agencies in other countries. This way, they could share information and coordinate efforts.

The United States, for example, had a long history in its combat against organized crime. Somehow, Sicilian law enforcement officials hadn't seen any need to learn lessons that had proved useful there.

The so-called Maxiprocesso was held at a high-security bunker on the outskirts of Palermo.

By using these new tactics, Falcone and his team managed to get a conviction to 338 members of the Sicilian Mafia. It happened in the Maxi Trial that went on from 1986-1987.

It dealt a significant blow to the organization's power and influence.

Falcone continued to fight relentlessly against organized crime until his untimely death in the bombing in 1992.

The Bombing on the A29 Motorway

Cosa Nostra carried out the bombing on the A29 motorway to murder Judge Giovanni Falcone. With him, the bomb killed his wife and three police officers.

The bombing happened near the town of Capaci. The Corleone Mafia had planted the explosives in a drainage pipe under the road. The bomb created a crater 10 meters wide and 1.5 meters deep. All five people died instantly.

The death of Giovanni Falcone created widespread outrage and condemnation around Italy. The Italian government answered by launching a massive crackdown on the Mafia.

Also, many of the Mafiosi who had collaborated with Falcone began to share their information more openly. They, too, were devastated by the murder of the man they respected.

All this led to yet more arrests and prosecutions of suspected members and associates of the Mafia.

Falcone's car after the bombing. (Photo by Horcrux / Wikimedia Commons)

The Aftermath and Legacy of the Death of Giovanni Falcone

Tens of thousands of people attended Falcone's funeral. The death of Giovanni Falcone sparked a renewed determination to fight organized crime in Italy.

Within a year of the bombing, hundreds of persons linked to the Mafia had been arrested and prosecuted. The government also established a new witness protection program and confiscation of Mafia assets.

Falcone's memory lives on to this day. His example serves as a model for all those who oppose organized crime and corruption.

Today, the Italian government is better equipped to fight mafia-related crime.

Falcone saw a weak state as the cause of the Mafia. If the state does not execute its power effectively, the Mafia is always ready to take its place.

This power struggle is still going on in Sicily, as in the whole of Italy.