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 Partinico ( Sicilian: ''Partinicu'', Ancient Greek: ''Parthenikòn'', Παρθενικόν) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. It is from Palermo and from Trapani. Main sights *Church of ''S ...

, in the

Metropolitan City of Palermo The Metropolitan City of Palermo ( it, Città metropolitana di Palermo; scn, Cità metrupulitana di Palermu) is a metropolitan city in Sicily, Italy. Its capital is the city of Palermo. It replaced the Province of Palermo and comprises the city o ...

. Geraci sat on 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 ...

since the mid-1970s and belonged to the hard line faction allied with the

Corleonesi The Corleonesi Mafia clan was a faction within the Corleone family of the Sicilian Mafia, formed in the 1970s. Notable leaders included Luciano Leggio, Salvatore Riina, Bernardo Provenzano, and Leoluca Bagarella. Corleonesi affiliates were n ...

of Totò Riina and Bernardo Provenzano. According to the pentito Tommaso Buscetta, Geraci took care of the fugitive Riina while he stayed in Partinico. As member of the Commission, Geraci was implicated in many decisions that involved the killing of prominent Antimafia personalities and various high level law enforcement officials, the so-called

Excellent Cadavers ''Excellent Cadavers'' is a 1995 non-fiction book by American author Alexander Stille about the Sicilian Mafia, concentrating on magistrate Giovanni Falcone's fight against the Mafia and his 1992 assassination. Book title The name of the book ...

. As such he received 12 life sentences in the late 1980s, but he still maintained a great deal of influence within the Palermo mafia through the leadership of his Partinico clan, which he kept through various acting bosses while he was imprisoned. Through his membership or seat on the

or ''Cupola'', Geraci like several of his fellow mafia capos was directly held responsible for the killings of Antimafia judges

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

Rocco Chinnici Rocco Chinnici (, ; 19 January 1925 – 29 July 1983) was a noted Italian anti-Mafia magistrate killed by the Sicilian Mafia. Life Born at Misilmeri, Chinnici graduated in law at the University of Palermo in 1947 and started working as a magist ...

, Antonio Saetta, Giovanni Falcone, Paolo Borsellino, the communist politician Pio La Torre and Carabinieri captain

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 whils ...

. In the 1990s a war of power in Partinico set the Geraci family against the Vitale family, headed by Vito Vitale. The former were loyal to Provenzano, while the Vitale clan were supported by Totò Riina and

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 ...

."La nuova mafia era contro Provenzano"
La Sicilia, June 4, 2005 Geraci was allowed to leave prison in May 2005 because of ill health and to return to his home town. The 88-year-old was blind, had heart problems and was restricted to a wheelchair. He died from a heart failure in his bed on February 6, 2007.
La Repubblica, February 7, 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geraci, Nene 1917 births 2007 deaths People from Partinico Sicilian mafiosi Sicilian Mafia Commission Sicilian mafiosi sentenced to life imprisonment