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, opposing another faction commanded by the successor designate Bernardo Provenzano, creating a real rift in Cosa Nostra. Bagarella was captured in 1995, having been a fugitive for four years, and sentenced to life imprisonment for Mafia association and multiple murders.

Early life

Bagarella was born in Corleone on 3 February 1942. Bagarella sided with Luciano Leggio of the Corleonesi in the late 1950s. Bagarella became the brother-in-law of Salvatore Riina in 1974 when he married Bagarella's sister, Antonia. Two of Bagarella's brothers were also Mafiosi; his elder brother, Calogero Bagarella, was shot dead on December 10, 1969, in the Viale Lazio in Palermo, during a shootout with rival mafioso Michele Cavataio and his men, known as the Viale Lazio massacre.Mafia Boss Provenzano Accused of 1969 Palermo Murders
Bloomberg, November 29, 2007Servadio, ''Mafioso'', p. 228-30 A second brother, Giuseppe, was murdered in prison in 1972.

On 21 July 1979, Bagarella killed police chief Boris Giuliano.Reputed Head of the Mafia Is Arrested in Palermo Chase
''The New York Times'', June 26, 1995 Giuliano was shot dead in the Lux Bar in Palermo having a cappuccino while waiting for his car to take him to work early in the morning.Sterling, ''Octopus'', p. 215-16 Bagarella shot Giuliano in the neck three times and, standing over the body, fired four bullets into Giuliano's back before making his escape.Mafia killer with a code of cruelty
The Independent, June 26, 1995''A Palermitan diary: Twenty years of reporting at the foot of Italy'', by Attilio Bolzoni inIl sacrificio di Boris Giuliano
La Sicilia, July 21, 2013

Giuliano's flying squad was investigating Bagarella after he had discovered his hiding place. Bagarella had managed to escape in time, but inside Giuliano discovered weapons, four kilograms of heroin and false documents with photographs depicting Bagarella.Quella P38 dietro l'omicidio Giuliano
, Antimafia Duemila N°14, July–August 2001

Bagarella shot five times and killed investigative journalist Mario Francese on 26 January 1979, in front of his house in Palermo.Follain, ''The Last Godfathers''
p. 112
/ref>
, Antimafia Duemila, January 26, 2014

Terrorist campaign

Bagarella married Vincenzina Marchese in 1991. The powerfully built Bagarella modelled himself on the eponymous character of the film ''The Godfather'', so when he married the attractive niece of a boss he had the movie theme played at a lavish party. According to pentito Toni Calvaruso, Vincenzina committed suicide on 12 May 1995, due to her depressive state after a series of miscarriages, her brother Giuseppe Marchese becoming a pentito and her husband's involvement with the kidnapping of 12 year-old Giuseppe Di Matteo (who was subsequently killed nearly a year after her own death).Longrigg, ''Mafia Women'', p. 122

Riina's reign as "boss of bosses" suffered a severe setback when hundreds of mafioso were found guilty at the Maxi Trial in 1986/87. Once the convictions were upheld by higher courts in January 1992,Giovanni Falcone, Paolo Borsellino and the Procura of Palermo
, Peter Schneider & Jane Schneider, May 2002, essay is based on excerpts from Chapter Six of Jane Schneider and Peter Schneider, Reversible Destiny: Mafia, Antimafia and the Struggle for Palermo, Berkeley: U. of California Press Riina ordered the murder of high-profile prosecutor Giovanni Falcone, a decision that was taken over an objection by Ignazio Salvo, who had argued that Falcone was best neutralized through political machinations.

Following Riina's arrest in January 1993, Bagarella was believed to have taken over the Corleonesi, rivalling Riina's putative successor, Bernardo Provenzano. In a meeting at Villabate, it was decided that both Provenzano and Bagarella should be in charge of holding the Corleonesi mandate together.

On 27 May 1993, a bomb under the Torre dei Pulci killed five people: Fabrizio Nencioni, his wife Angelamaria, their daughters nine-year-old Nadia and two-month-old Caterina and Dario Capolicchio, aged 20. Thirty-three people were injured. Further attacks on art galleries and churches left 10 dead with many injured, and caused outrage among Italians. At least one high-ranking investigator believed most of those who carried out murders for Cosa Nostra at this time answered solely to Bagarella, and that consequently Bagarella actually wielded more power than Provenzano, who was Riina's formal successor.Follain, ''Vendetta'', p. ?

Provenzano protested about the terrorist attacks, but Bagarella responded sarcastically, telling him to wear a sign saying "I don't have anything to do with the massacres". Bagarella stopped ordering murders some time before his own capture, apparently due to the suicide of his wife Vincenzina.

Arrest and conviction

On 24 June 1995, Bagarella was arrested, having been a fugitive for four years. Bagarella was convicted of multiple murders and imprisoned for life. These included the murders of Giuliano,Primo ergastolo per Bagarella
Corriere della Sera, March 1, 1997Delitto Dalla Chiesa: ottavo ergastolo a Riina
Corriere della Sera, March 18, 1995 of Francese,Biografia Mario Francese
Fondazione Francese of Giuseppe Russo, of Falcone, of Giuseppe Di Matteo, of Antonino Burrafato, of Salvatore Caravà,Condannati Leoluca Bagarella e Giovanni Brusca
of Ignazio Di Giovanni, and of Simone Lo Manto and Raimondo Mulè.

In 2002, Bagarella had protested about his treatment under the Article 41-bis prison regime law that placed heavy restrictions on jailed Mafia bosses to prevent them from running their criminal empires from behind bars. At a court appearance that June, Bagarella made some thinly veiled threats to the Italian government, saying the Mafia is "tired of being exploited, humiliated, oppressed and used like goods exchanged among the various political forces."Mafiosi given 'soft jail time' by Berlusconi
The Observer, July 25, 2004 Some interpreted this as a sign the Mafia was annoyed that its previously cozy relationship with politicians had broken down, speculating about Mafia bosses having been in some sort of clandestine negotiations with politicians.Dickie, ''Cosa Nostra'', pp. 441-42 In 2005, he launched boiling oil against an 'Ndrangheta boss prisoner, leading to a further one year sentence.Bagarella, olio bollente su un detenuto - Corriera della Sera 13/7/2008
/ref> Following the violence, he was transferred to a prison in Parma.

In total, Bagarella was given 13 life sentences plus 106 years and ten months, and solitary confinement for 6 years.

On 20 April 2018, he was sentenced to a further 28 years in prison.

In popular culture

Characters based on Leoluca Bagarella were featured in the 2007 Italian TV series ''Il Capo dei Capi'', the 2014 TV series ''Furore'', the 2018 TV series ''Il cacciatore'', the 2007 film ''L'ultimo dei Corleonesi'', and the 2013 film ''La mafia uccide solo d'estate''.

References

Bibliography

*Dickie, John (2004).
Cosa Nostra. A history of the Sicilian Mafia
', London: Coronet,
*Follain, John (2012). ''Vendetta: The Mafia, Judge Falcone and the Quest for Justice'', London: Hodder & Stoughton,
*Jamieson, Alison (1999).
The Antimafia: Italy's fight against organized crime
', London: Palgrave Macmillan,
*Longrigg, Clare (1998).
Mafia Women
', London: Vintage
*Servadio, Gaia (1976), ''Mafioso. A history of the Mafia from its origins to the present day'', London: Secker & Warburg

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagarella, Leoluca
1942 births
Corleonesi
Fugitives
Fugitives wanted by Italy
Italian people convicted of murdering police officers
Living people
People convicted of murder by Italy
Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Italy
Sicilian Mafiosi
Sicilian Mafiosi sentenced to life imprisonment