Antonino Geraci (Partinico, 2 January 1917 – Partinico, 6 February 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 The Metropolitan City of Palermo (; ) is a metropolitan city in Sicily, Italy. Its capital is the city of Palermo. It replaced the province of Palermo and comprises the city of Palermo and 82 other ''comuni'' (: ''comune''). It has 1,194,439 in ...

. Geraci sat on the Sicilian Mafia Commission since the mid-1970s and belonged to the hard line faction allied with the Corleonesi of Totò Riina and Bernardo Provenzano. According to the

pentito ''Pentito'' (; lit. "repentant"; plural: ''pentiti'') is used colloquially to designate collaborators of justice in Italian criminal procedure terminology who were formerly part of criminal organizations and decided to collaborate with a public ...

Tommaso Buscetta Tommaso Buscetta (; 13 July 1928 – 2 April 2000) was a high-ranking Italian mobster and a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He became one of the first of its members to turn informant and explain the inner workings of the organization. Buscetta p ...

, Geraci took care of the fugitive Riina while he stayed in Partinico. As a 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. As part of the

Maxi Trial The Maxi Trial () 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 Court of Cassati ...

in 1987, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Through his membership or seat on the Sicilian Mafia Commission or ''Cupola'', Geraci like several of his fellow mafia capos was directly held responsible for the killings of Antimafia judges Cesare Terranova, Rocco Chinnici, Antonino Saetta,

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 ...

, Paolo Borsellino, the communist politician Pio La Torre and

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

captain Emanuele Basile. In 2002, Geraci was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the murder of Chinnici. 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."La nuova mafia era contro Provenzano"
La Sicilia, 4 June 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 6 February 2007.
La Repubblica, 7 February 2007.

References

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