The Graviano family () is a

Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily a ...

clan, composed of four mafioso siblings: Benedetto, Filippo,

Giuseppe Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Giusep ...

and Nunzia. Their father was Michele Graviano, uomo d'onore that belonged to the Brancaccio Mafia family and was murdered by

Gaetano Grado Gaetano Grado (born in Palermo, 8 March 1943) is an Italian mafioso from Palermo, Sicily. He was a member of the Santa Maria di Gesù family under Stefano Bontade until his arrest, after which he became a justice collaborator. Biography Gaetano ...

in 1982.

History

In 1990 the brothers Giuseppe and Filippo Graviano became heads of the Brancaccio-Ciaculli district, replacing the ''boss

Giuseppe Lucchese Giuseppe Lucchese (; born September 2, 1959), known as ''Occhi di ghiaccio'' (Eyes of ice), is a member of the Sicilian Mafia from the Brancaccio neighbourhood in Palermo. He was one of the favourite hitmen of the Corleonesi, headed by Totò Rii ...

'' who was in prison. After the arrest of the mafia boss

Totò Riina Salvatore Riina (; 16 November 1930 – 17 November 2017), called (, Totò being the diminutive of Salvatore), was an Italian mobster and chief of the Sicilian Mafia, known for a ruthless murder campaign that reached a peak in the early 1990s ...

, in January 1993, the remaining bosses, including Giuseppe Graviano,

Matteo Messina Denaro Matteo Messina Denaro (; born 26 April 1962), also known as ''Diabolik'', is a Sicilian Mafia boss. He got his nickname from the Italian comic book character of the same name. He is considered to be one of the new leaders of Cosa Nostra after t ...

, Giuseppe Barranca,

Bernardo Provenzano Bernardo Provenzano (; 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 c ...

, Francesco Giuliano, Cosimo Lo Nigro, Francesco Tagliavia,

Giovanni Brusca Giovanni Brusca (; born 20 February 1957) is an Italian mobster and former member of the Corleonesi clan of the Sicilian Mafia. He had a major role in the 1992 murders of Antimafia Commission prosecutor Giovanni Falcone and businessman Ignazio ...

Leoluca Bagarella Leoluca Bagarella (; born 3 February 1942) is an Italian criminal and member of the Sicilian Mafia. He is from the town of Corleone. Following Salvatore Riina's arrest in early 1993, Bagarella became the head of the stragist strategy faction, opp ...

, Antonino Gioè and

Gioacchino La Barbera Gioacchino La Barbera (born November 1959 in Altofonte) is a member of the Mafia who became a pentito. He was one of the key witnesses in the trial against the killers of Antimafia judge Giovanni Falcone. La Barbera was born in Altofonte, in the ...

met in the town of

Santa Flavia Santa Flavia (known as Solunto until 1880) is a town in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. Overview The town is situated between the Gulf of Palermo and the town and hot springs known as Termini Imerese, on the Tyrrhenian S ...

on the outskirts of

Bagheria Bagheria (; scn, Baarìa ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in Sicily, Italy, located approximately 10km to the east of the city centre. Etymology According to some sources, the name ''Bagheria'' (by way of old Sicil ...

. A massacre strategy against the state was put in place. This strategy involved a series of bomb attacks in 1993 in via dei Georgofili in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, in Via Palestro in Milan, in Piazza San Giovanni and in via San Teodoro in Rome. The Gravianos were identified as being responsible for selecting the men who would carry out the attacks. Both were given a life sentence.

Filippo and Giuseppe Graviano

Filippo and

are the most well known members of the Graviano family, and the term "Graviano brothers" usually refers to the two of them. They are currently life sentenced to be the instigators of the

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

Pino Puglisi Giuseppe "Pino" Puglisi (, ; 15 September 1937 – 15 September 1993) was a Roman Catholic priest in the rough Palermo neighbourhood of Brancaccio. He openly challenged the Mafia who controlled the neighbourhood, and was killed by them on hi ...

's killing, and also for the

Giovanni Falcone Giovanni Falcone (; 18 May 1939 – 23 May 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian ...

and

Paolo Borsellino Paolo Emanuele Borsellino (; scn, Pàulu Borsellino; 19 January 1940 – 19 July 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying t ...

's massacres.

Nunzia Graviano

Nunzia Graviano (Palermo, 9 June 1968) is an Italian criminal, sister of Filippo and Giuseppe Graviano, the mafia leaders in the Brancaccio district of Palermo in the 1990s. Nunzia Graviano, known as 'A Picciridda' ("the little girl"), reinvested the family's financial assets, modernizing the activities, while the other brothers were in prison. According to her accusation "She is the alter ego of her brothers in their territory and is capable of managing a large fortune." She is among the first women to have acted as the "regent" of a prominent Mafia family. She is reported to be the mastermind behind the Graviano brothers' financial strategy, following the

Milan stock exchange Borsa Italiana, based in Milan, is the Italian stock exchange. It manages and organises domestic market, regulating procedures for admission and listing of companies and intermediaries and supervising disclosures for listed companies.italy24.ils ...

, and was an avid reader of the financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. Much of the Gravianos' wealth was invested in listed blue chip companies. She was also involved in money laundering abroad through a financial advisory firm in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. Nunzia Graviano was arrested in July 1999 in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Benedetto Graviano

Benedetto Graviano (Palermo, 15 July 1958) is an Italian criminal, mafia boss in the Brancaccio district of Palermo in the 1990s. He is the oldest of the Graviano brothers. He served five years in prison for Mafia. He was then arrested in July 2004 for cocaine trafficking, he allegedly financed 18 kilograms of that drug in a 'joint venture' with a clan of the

'Ndrangheta The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a prominent Italian Mafia-type organized crime syndicate and secret society, criminal society based in the peninsular and mountainous region of Calabria and dating back to the late 18th century. It is considered one of ...

. The cocaine would have been shared among the Palermo jet set. After his release for lack of evidence, he was arrested again in February 2005 . Benedetto had resumed command of the Brancaccio area , after the arrest of the regent

Giuseppe Guttadauro Giuseppe Guttadauro (born August 18, 1948 in Bagheria, Palermo province of Italy) is an Italian Mafia boss and a high-profile surgeon from the Rocella neighbourhood in Palermo. Born in Bagheria, he became the regent of the Brancaccio mandament ...

. The mafia family of Santa Maria di Gesù wanted to extend their borders to that area, but the Cosa Nostra bosses reached an agreement and let Bernardo Provenzano decide on the appointment, which went to Benedetto Graviano. According to some reports, however, he was not considered "very smart" by Totò Riina.

References

{{Sicilian Mafia Sicilian Mafia clans