Libero Grassi (; 19 July 1924 – 29 August 1991) was an Italian clothing manufacturer from

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, who was killed by the

Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

after taking a solitary stand against their

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

demands. The businessman wrote an open letter to the local newspaper informing the extortionists that he was no longer willing to pay '' pizzo'', a Sicilian term for

protection money A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from viol ...

. Other business-owners and shopkeepers in Palermo refused to join his public campaign. Grassi was gunned down in the street near his home eight months after writing the letter. Grassi was born in

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

, was married, and had a son and daughter. Following his death, his family have continued his campaign, lending their support to the

Addiopizzo Addiopizzo ( en, "Goodbye Pizzo") is a grassroots movement established in Sicily to build a community of businesses and consumers who refuse to pay " pizzo"—Mafia extortion money.A Bullet For a Businessman
Business Week, 4 November 1991 Like many businessmen in the city, he was soon subjected to demands to pay "''pizzo''" or face the consequences.'They say the Mafia is beaten. That's rubbish'
, The Independent, 18 December 2000 The ''pizzo'' – a form of

protection racket A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from viol ...

– is demanded by the Mafia to local businesses and the refusal to pay can mean vandalism or

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

attacks on places of business, or even physical harm, including

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

, if demands are not met.

Refusal to pay ''pizzo''

In late 1990, Grassi began to refuse to pay, as did an estimated 50% of Palermo businesses. The extortionists demanded money "for their poor friends in jail" and threatened to kill him.Milan and the Mafia: Who Has a Line on Whom?
The New York Times, 1 July 1991 On 10 January 1991, Grassi wrote an open letter in the ''

Giornale di Sicilia ''Giornale di Sicilia'' is an Italian daily national newspaper for the island of Sicily. It is based in Palermo, and is the best-selling newspaper in Sicily. Since 2017, it is owned by the daily newspaper of Messina, Gazzetta del Sud. History and ...

'', a Palermo daily, that began "Dear extortionist," in which he denounced the Mafia's demands for protection money and publicly announced his refusal to pay.Libero Grassi, martire civile
, La Sicilia, 30 August 2009 The same day, he reported the names of his extortionists to the police, a move that resulted in five arrests in March.
La Repubblica, 30 August 1991 The morning after the letter was published, the Mayor of Palermo, the prosecutor, the colonel of the federal police, and the press showed up at his factory to show support. However, even after he got police protection, two strangers appeared who claimed to be health inspectors and threatened the workers once they were inside. Grassi became something of a national hero in Italy, a Sicilian businessman who stood up to the Mafia, after appearing on nationwide TV on 11 April 1991 (at

Michele Santoro Michele Santoro (born 2 July 1951) is an Italian journalist, and television host and presenter. He also served till October 2005 as Member of the European Parliament for Southern Italy with the United in the Olive Tree list, part of the Sociali ...

's ''Samarcanda'' on

Rai Tre Rai 3 (formerly Rete 3) is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It was launched on 15 December 1979 and its programming is centred towards cultural and ...

). However, instead of receiving solidarity from other shopkeepers and businesses for his refusal to pay protection money, he was criticised, gradually isolated, and accused of demolishing the image of the Palermo business world. In his interviews, he denounced the Mafia and also the way that many of his fellow businessmen seemed to shun him, and how even customers ceased to frequent his store in fear of being caught in the wrath of the Mafia whom Grassi was provoking with his stance. Grassi stated in an interview:

Retaliations and murder

Grassi eventually had his shop broken into in early 1991 and the exact amount of money that had been demanded of him was stolen. An unsuccessful arson attack on his shop soon followed. The 67-year-old Grassi was gunned down in the via Vittorio Alfieri in Palermo at 7:30 in the morning on 29 August 1991, less than a year after taking his stance against the Mafia. He was shot in the head three times as he walked from his home to his car. No witnesses came forward. After the killing, 10,000 people took to the streets to protest his murder.Killing in Sicily Sets Off Backlash Against Mob
The New York Times, 12 October 1991 On 26 September 1991, TV hosts Santoro and

Maurizio Costanzo Maurizio Costanzo (born 28 August 1938) is an Italian television host, journalist, screenwriter and film director. Biography Costanzo began his career as a journalist, first as a contributing writer to ''Paese Sera'' and then as managing editor ...

dedicated a joint five-hour nationwide television programme to the memory of Grassi in a unique cooperation between the public

and the private

Canale 5 Canale 5 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have a national coverage in Italy in 1980. On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a s ...

, with the participation of anti-Mafia judge

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 ...

.Rai e Fininvest contro la mafia
La Repubblica, 26 September 1991 Grassi's wife, Pina, and their children, Davide and Alice, tried to keep the family firm going. "I was terrified for their safety so, as the threats continued after Libero's killing, we reluctantly agreed to allow a state holding to run the company with Davide keeping a share," Pina recalled. It eventually went bankrupt.

Killers convicted

It took some time, but killer Mafioso Salvatore "Salvino" Madonia and his father

Francesco Madonia Francesco Madonia (March 31, 1924 – March 13, 2007) was the Mafia boss of the San Lorenzo-Pallavicino area in Palermo. In 1978 he became a member of the Sicilian Mafia Commission. ''Ciccio'' Madonia became the unquestioned patriarch of the Resu ...

, the unquestioned patriarch of the Resuttana Mafia family in

, were eventually brought to justice. According to a Mafia turncoat, Salvatore Madonia personally killed Grassi.'Così uccidemmo Libero Grassi'
La Repubblica, 15 October 1993 A large trial in October 2006 saw thirty mobsters convicted of sixty murders dating back a quarter-of-a-century, with the Madonias convicted of Grassi's slaying. One hundred shopkeepers in Palermo publicly declared their refusal to pay extortion to the Mafia in 2006, not long after Mafia boss

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 ...

was arrested, with Grassi's widow Pina and children Davide and Alice in attendance at public rallies denouncing the Mafia jointly with the

Addiopizzo Addiopizzo ( en, "Goodbye Pizzo") is a grassroots movement established in Sicily to build a community of businesses and consumers who refuse to pay " pizzo"—Mafia extortion money.List of victims of the Sicilian Mafia This list of victims of the Sicilian Mafia includes people who have been killed by the Sicilian Mafia while opposing its rule. It does not include people killed in internal conflicts of the Mafia itself. 1890s 1893 *February 1 – Emanuele N ...

References

*Jamieson, Alison (2000). ''The Antimafia: Italy’s fight against organized crime'', London: Macmillan Press . * Stille, Alexander (1995). ''Excellent Cadavers. The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic'', New York: Vintage

External links

''Remembering Libero Grassi'' at Best of Sicily

letter of Libero Grassi
published in the Corriere della Sera, the day after he was killed. 1924 births 1991 deaths 1991 murders in Europe Antimafia Businesspeople from Palermo Male murder victims People murdered by the Sicilian Mafia deaths by firearm in Italy {{Mafia