Rocco Chinnici (, ; 19 January 1925 – 29 July 1983) was a noted Italian anti-Mafia magistrate killed by the

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 ...

Life

Born at

Misilmeri Misilmeri ( scn, Musulumeli) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily. It is approximately from Palermo and its name means "the resting place or the messuage of the Emir", and dates from the Muslim emirate of Sicily. ...

, Chinnici graduated in law at the University of Palermo in 1947 and started working as a magistrate in 1952 in

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an impor ...

. In 1966 he moved to the prosecutors office in Palermo. In November 1979, he became head of the Examining Office at the Palermo Court, following the murder of his predecessor,

Cesare Terranova Cesare Terranova (; 25 August 1921 – 25 September 1979)
Centro Studi Giuridici e So ...

, by the Mafia.Stille, ''Excellent Cadavers'', p. 81 At the time the prosecution was separated in an examining phase (the so-called instruction phase) and a prosecuting phase. Chinnici created the Antimafia Pool, a group of investigating magistrates who closely worked together sharing information to diffuse responsibility and to prevent one person from becoming the sole institutional memory and solitary target. The famous Antimafia magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino were part of the Antimafia Pool as well as and .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: University of California Press The Antimafia pool laid the groundwork for the Maxi Trial against the Sicilian Mafia in 1986. He was instrumental in reviving investigations into the Mafia and understood the need to bridge the gap between the judiciary and the rest of Sicilian society to create a counterculture against the Mafia and break down omertà, the law of silence that kept the Mafia alive. He frequently spoke out against the Mafia in public appearances and schools at a time when judges had avoided the word for many years.

Assassination

On 29 July 1983 a

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...

explosion in Palermo killed Chinnici, two of his

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...

s, Mario Trapassi and Salvatore Bartolotta, and the concierge of his

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

block, Stefano Li Sacchi, as he left the house to go to work. The bomb was triggered by the notorious Mafia assassin

Pino Greco Pino or Piño may refer to: People * Danny Pino (born 1974), American actor * Domenico Pino (1760–1826), Italian general of the Napoleonic Wars * Fernando Solanas (born 1936), aka "Pino" Solanas, Argentine filmmaker * Frank J. Pino (1909–2 ...

, on the orders of his uncle Michele Greco. In 2002, Bernardo Provenzano,

Salvatore 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 ...

Raffaele Ganci Raffaele Ganci (4 January 1932 – 3 June 2022) was a member of the Mafia in Sicily from the Noce neighbourhood in Palermo. He was considered to be the right-hand man of Cosa Nostra boss Totò Riina and sat on the Sicilian Mafia Commission.

, Antonino Madonia,

Salvatore Buscemi Salvatore may refer to: * Salvatore (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name * "Salvatore" (song), by Lana Del Rey, 2015 * Salvatore (band), a Norwegian instrumental rock band * '' Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams' ...

Nenè Geraci Antonino Geraci (Partinico, January 2, 1917 – Partinico, February 6, 2007), better known as Nenè or ''il vecchio'' (the old one), was the historical boss of the Mafia in Partinico, in the Metropolitan City of Palermo. Geraci sat on the Sicilian ...

, Giuseppe Calò,

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 ...

, Salvatore and Giuseppe Montalto,

Stefano Ganci Stefano is the Italian form of the masculine given name Στέφανος (Stefanos, Stephen). The name is of Greek origin, Στέφανος, meaning a person who made a significant achievement and has been crowned. In Orthodox Christianity the ach ...

and

Vincenzo Galatolo Vincenzo is an Italian male given name, derived from the Latin name Vincentius (the verb ''vincere'' means to win or to conquer). Notable people with the name include: Art * Vincenzo Amato (born 1966), Italian actor and sculptor *Vincenzo Bell ...

were sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for ordering the murder of Chinnici.Italy: Mafia 'Pope' dies in Rome clinic

Adnkronos International Adnkronos is an Italian news agency. History and profile Adnkronos was established in 1963 by a merger of two agencies, ''Kronos'' (founded in 1951) and ''Agenzia Di Notizie'' (founded in 1959). The agency is based in Rome. Adnkronos is owned ...

, February 13, 2008 He was succeeded as Chief Prosecutor by Antonino Caponnetto.

Biography

References

*Schneider, Jane T. & Peter T. Schneider (2003).
Reversible Destiny: Mafia, Antimafia, and the Struggle for Palermo
', Berkeley: University of California Press * Stille, Alexander (1995). '' Excellent Cadavers: The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic'', New York: Vintage

External links

Fondazione Rocco Chinnici

I Siciliani, March 1983 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chinnici, Rocco 1925 births 1983 deaths People from the Province of Palermo Antimafia Deaths by car bomb in Italy People murdered by the Sicilian Mafia Law enforcement in Italy Assassinated Italian judges People murdered in Italy University of Palermo alumni 1983 murders in Italy People murdered by the Corleonesi

Life

Assassination

Biography

See also

References

External links