Francesco Madonia (March 31, 1924 – March 13, 2007) was 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 ...

boss of the San Lorenzo-Pallavicino area in Palermo. In 1978 he became a member of the

Sicilian Mafia Commission The Sicilian Mafia Commission (Italian: ''Commissione provinciale''), known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Sicilian Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicili ...

. ''Ciccio'' Madonia became the unquestioned patriarch of the Resuttana Mafia family, having replaced Antonino Matranga, murdered in 1970. In 1978 he came to head the Resuttana mandamento after the territory, on Totò Riina's request, was taken out of the jurisdiction of

Rosario Riccobono Rosario Riccobono (February 10, 1929 in Palermo – November 30, 1982 in Palermo) was a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was the boss of Partanna Mondello, a suburb of Palermo, his native city. In 1974 he became a member of the Sicilian Ma ...

and made independent. Already one of Riina's closest allies in all of Sicily, he and the Resuttana family he led strongly supported the Corleonesi during the Second Mafia War in 1981-84. Ciccio Madonia's two sons, Nino and Salvuccio, took part in many murders and massacres during the war. In 1987, at the

Maxi Trial The Maxi Trial ( it, Maxiprocesso) was a criminal trial against the Sicilian Mafia that took place in Palermo, Sicily. The trial lasted from 10 February 1986 (the first day of the Corte d'Assise) to 30 January 1992 (the final day of the Supreme ...

, he was sentenced to life for murder, but he went on running the Family from prison; first through his sons Antonino, Giuseppe and Salvatore ''Salvino'' Madonia, all three jailed, after that through his brother Diego, the reputed acting boss.

Life sentences

''Ciccio'' Madonia had several life sentences and was involved in several of the most bloody events in the 1980s. He actively cooperated in the elimination of the old Palermitan bosses of the Second Mafia War, such as

Stefano Bontade Stefano Bontade (23 April 1939 – 23 April 1981) was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. His actual surname was Bontate. He was the boss of the Santa Maria di Gesù Family in Palermo. He was also known as the ''Principe di Villagrazia'' (Prin ...

and

Salvatore Inzerillo Salvatore Inzerillo (; 20 August 1944 – 11 May 1981) was an Italian member of the Sicilian Mafia, also known as Totuccio (a diminutive for Salvatore). He rose to be a powerful boss of Palermo's Passo di Rigano family. A prolific heroin traffick ...

. He has also been involved in the murders of

Piersanti Mattarella Piersanti Mattarella (; 24 May 1935 – 6 January 1980) was an Italian politician. He was assassinated by the Mafia while he held the position of President of the Regional Government of Sicily. He was the brother of Sergio Mattarella, who ha ...

, the

Christian Democrat Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

president of the autonomous region of

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

in 1980; general Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, the prefect of Palermo in 1982; police chief Ninni Cassarà in 1985; and

Libero Grassi Libero Grassi (; 19 July 1924 – 29 August 1991) was an Italian clothing manufacturer from Palermo, Sicily, who was killed by the Mafia after taking a solitary stand against their extortion demands. The businessman wrote an open letter to the lo ...

, the Palermitan businessman who was killed by the Mafia after refusing to pay

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, ...

money, known as " pizzo". Francesco Madonia was involved in the failed bomb attack against Antimafia 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 ...

at Addaura in 1989 (which is in the Resuttana mandamento) and the killings of Falcone and his colleague

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 ...

in 1992.Morto Madonia, boss di Resuttana
La Repubblica, March 14, 2007 He was arrested in 1987 together with his son Giuseppe Madonia. However, despite his life sentence at the

, the most important Mafia bosses of the Commission spent months at a time not at Ucciardone prison, but in hotel-like conditions of Palermo’s Ospedale Civico (Civic Hospital). The director of the hospital was Giuseppe Lima, the brother of

Salvo Lima Salvatore Achille Ettore Lima (; 23 January 1928 – 12 March 1992) was an Italian politician from Sicily who was associated with, and murdered by, the Sicilian Mafia. He is often just referred to as Salvo Lima. According to the ''pentito'' ...

, member of parliament suspected of mafia ties. In 1989, the police discovered the hideout of Francesco’s son Nino Madonia that contained an account book of the family’s extortion business which listed some 150 businessmen.Stille, ''Excellent Cadavers'', p. 346-47 The ledger included the names of car dealers, drugstores, restaurants, and small factories that were lined up next to the amounts of their pizzo – from about US$150 to US$7,000 a month. None of the more than 150 businessmen on the list would help identify the extortionists.A Bullet For a Businessman
, Business Week, November 4, 1991Paoli, ''Mafia Brotherhoods'', p. 169 Francesco Madonia has been convicted for ordering the killing of

in 1991, the Palermo businessman who refused to pay

protection Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

money (the so-called ''pizzo'') and went on national television to denounce the practice. Grassi's business was in the area that is controlled by the Madonia clan. His son Salvatore ''Salvino'' Madonia was the killer. On 14 November 1992, Madonia and Salvatore Riina were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of

Emanuele Basile Emanuele Basile (; July 2, 1949 – May 4, 1980) was an Italian captain of the Carabinieri and a collaborator of Paolo Borsellino on anti-Mafia investigations. He was killed by Cosa Nostra in Monreale, Palermo, shot repeatedly in the back whi ...

Death

He died on March 13, 2007, in a prison hospital in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

where he was serving his life sentences under the severe conditions of the

article 41-bis prison regime In Italian law, Article 41-bis of the Prison Administration Act, also known as carcere duro ("hard prison regime"), is a provision that allows the Minister of Justice or the Minister of the Interior to suspend certain prison regulations. Currently ...

. In November 2008, Italian police arrested five people, including Maria Angela Di Trapani, the wife of jailed Sicilian Mafia boss Antonino Madonia, and seized assets worth 15 million euros, anti-Mafia investigators believe belong to the Madonias. The assets include farmland and farm buildings, villas, apartments and businesses in Sicily.Police arrest five Mafia suspects in Sicily
AND Kronos, November 25, 2008 Madonia's jailed sons, Antonino, Giuseppe and Salvatore are all in high-security detention under the harsh 41-bis prison regime for Mafia prisoners that is meant to severely restrict their contact with other prisoners and the outside world. Nevertheless, they have continued to run the Madonia clan, issuing orders via Di Trapani and exchanging information with the Di Trapani clan, according to investigators.

References

*Jamieson, Alison (2000), ''The Antimafia. Italy’s Fight Against Organized Crime'', London: MacMillan Press *Paoli, Letizia (2003).
Mafia Brotherhoods: Organized Crime, Italian Style
', New York: Oxford University Press

by Klaus Von Lampe) * Stille, Alexander (1995). ''Excellent Cadavers. The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic'', New York: Vintage {{DEFAULTSORT:Madonia, Francesco 1924 births 2007 deaths Gangsters from Palermo Sicilian Mafia Commission Italian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Italy Sicilian mafiosi sentenced to life imprisonment People convicted of murder by Italy Sicilian mafiosi