Filippo Marchese
Encyclopedia
Filippo Marchese was a leading figure in the Sicilian
Mafia
and a hitman
suspected of dozens of homicide
s. He was the boss of the Mafia family in the Corso Dei Mille neighbourhood in Palermo
.
Marchese ran what became known as the Room of Death, a small apartment along the Piazza Sant Erasmo. Victims who stood in the way of the Corleonesi
, the Mafia clan from the town of Corleone
, were lured there to be murdered, usually by being garrotted. Their bodies were either dissolved in acid or chopped up and dumped out at sea. As many as 100 people – mafiosi who stood in the way of the Corleonesi bosses, Salvatore Riina
and Bernardo Provenzano
, and their associates – were killed there during the Second Mafia War
.
Like most mafiosi, Filippo Marchese was very elusive, and the primary source of information about his career in crime comes from Vincenzo Sinagra
, an informant
. Sinagra was not actually a member of the Mafia but just a common criminal who, in 1981, made the mistake of robbing from a mafioso. He was given three choices; leave Sicily, die, or become a gofer
for the Corleonesi. He opted for the third option and ended up working with Marchese in the Room of Death.
Sinagra was arrested on August 11, 1982 when he was caught red-handed carrying out a contract killing, and after a year in custody he decided to become an informant and cooperated with the anti-Mafia judge Paolo Borsellino
. He testified at the Maxi Trial
of 1986-87, along with Tommaso Buscetta
. Sinagra claimed at the Maxi Trial that it was invariably his job to hold the feet of those who died in the Room of Death while Marchese strangled them with a length of rope. Sinagra even claimed that Marchese masturbated whilst snorting cocaine
and watching victims being tortured. By the time of the Maxi Trial, however, Filippo Marchese was dead.
Marchese had been a valuable asset to the Corleonesi during the Second Mafia War
in 1981-83. Afterwards his violent nature was of no further use, and potentially marked him out as a threat to the leadership of the Corleonesi bosses, Salvatore Riina
and Bernardo Provenzano
. Sometime around the end of 1982, Filippo Marchese was garrotted and dissolved in acid like so many of his own victims. He was so elusive that the authorities did not learn of his death until the late 1980s through an informant.
The man who killed Marchese was Pino Greco. Greco himself was killed in 1985 by two of his own men on Toto Riina's orders, his underboss Vincenzo Puccio
and a lieutenant, Giuseppe Lucchese
, who later became boss of the Brancaccio
-Ciaculli
mandamento
after Puccio was killed.
Filippo Marchese's two nephews, Antonino and Giuseppe Marchese
, subsequently murdered Vincenzo Puccio in 1989 on Riina's orders, but then Riina deliberately destroyed their alibi. Giuseppe Marchese
became a pentito
in September 1992 after he realized his godfather and mentor Riina had betrayed him.
Marchese’s niece, Vincenza Marchese, was married to Leoluca Bagarella
of the Corleonesi
clan and Totò Riina's brother-in-law. Bagarella was rumoured to have killed his wife Vincenza sometime after her brother Giuseppe Marchese
co-operated with the government and became a pentito
(informant). When Bagarella was arrested on June 24, 1995 – after four years on the run with his wife –there was no sign of Vincenza, just a bunch of flowers in front of her picture on the mantelpiece – a sign of mourning. However, other sources said that Vincenza had committed suicide after her brother began collaborating with authorities. Another version was that she was clinically depressed, after a series of miscarriages. She had left a letter declaring her shame and asking her husband for forgiveness.
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
and a hitman
Hitman
A hitman is a person hired to kill another person.- Hitmen in organized crime :Hitmen are largely linked to the world of organized crime. Hitmen are hired people who kill people for money. Notable examples include Murder, Inc., Mafia hitmen and Richard Kuklinski.- Other cases involving hitmen...
suspected of dozens of homicide
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
s. He was the boss of the Mafia family in the Corso Dei Mille neighbourhood in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
.
Marchese ran what became known as the Room of Death, a small apartment along the Piazza Sant Erasmo. Victims who stood in the way of the Corleonesi
Corleonesi
The Corleonesi is the name given to a faction within the Sicilian Mafia that dominated Cosa Nostra in the 1980s and the 1990s. It was called the Corleonesi because its most important leaders came from the town of Corleone, first Luciano Leggio and later Totò Riina, Bernardo Provenzano and Leoluca...
, the Mafia clan from the town of Corleone
Corleone
Corleone is a small town and comune of approximately 12,000 inhabitants in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy....
, were lured there to be murdered, usually by being garrotted. Their bodies were either dissolved in acid or chopped up and dumped out at sea. As many as 100 people – mafiosi who stood in the way of the Corleonesi bosses, Salvatore Riina
Salvatore Riina
Salvatore "Totò" Riina is a member of the Sicilian Mafia who became the most powerful member of the criminal organization in the early 1980s. Fellow mobsters nicknamed him The Beast due to his violent nature, or sometimes The Short One due to his diminutive stature...
and Bernardo Provenzano
Bernardo Provenzano
Bernardo Provenzano is a member of the Sicilian Mafia and is suspected of having been the head of the Corleonesi, a Mafia faction that originated in the village of Corleone, and de facto capo di tutti capi of the entire Sicilian Mafia until his arrest in 2006.His nickname is Binnu u tratturi...
, and their associates – were killed there during the Second Mafia War
Second Mafia War
The Second Mafia War was a conflict within the Sicilian Mafia, mostly taking place in the early 1980s. As with any criminal organization, the history of the Sicilian Mafia is replete with conflicts and power struggles, and the violence that results from them, but these are generally localised and...
.
Like most mafiosi, Filippo Marchese was very elusive, and the primary source of information about his career in crime comes from Vincenzo Sinagra
Vincenzo Sinagra
Vincenzo Sinagra was an associate of the Sicilian Mafia who later became a significant informant.Sinagra was not actually a member of the Mafia but just a petty criminal, one of fourteen children to a fisherman from Palermo...
, an informant
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
. Sinagra was not actually a member of the Mafia but just a common criminal who, in 1981, made the mistake of robbing from a mafioso. He was given three choices; leave Sicily, die, or become a gofer
Gofer
A gofer or go-fer is an employee who is often sent on errands. "Gofer" reflects the likelihood of instructions to go for coffee, dry cleaning, or stamps, or to make other straightforward or familiar procurements. The term gofer originated in North America...
for the Corleonesi. He opted for the third option and ended up working with Marchese in the Room of Death.
Sinagra was arrested on August 11, 1982 when he was caught red-handed carrying out a contract killing, and after a year in custody he decided to become an informant and cooperated with the anti-Mafia judge Paolo Borsellino
Paolo Borsellino
Paolo Borsellino was an Italian anti-Mafia magistrate who was killed by a Mafia car bomb in Palermo, less than two months after his fellow anti-Mafia magistrate Giovanni Falcone had been assassinated....
. He testified at the Maxi Trial
Maxi Trial
The Maxi Trial was a criminal trial that took place in Sicily during the mid-1980s that saw hundreds of defendants on trial convicted for a multitude of crimes relating to Mafia activities, based primarily on testimony given in as evidence from a former boss turned informant...
of 1986-87, along with Tommaso Buscetta
Tommaso Buscetta
Tommaso Buscetta was a Sicilian mafioso. Although he was not the first pentito in the Italian witness protection program, he is widely recognized as the first important one breaking omertà...
. Sinagra claimed at the Maxi Trial that it was invariably his job to hold the feet of those who died in the Room of Death while Marchese strangled them with a length of rope. Sinagra even claimed that Marchese masturbated whilst snorting cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and watching victims being tortured. By the time of the Maxi Trial, however, Filippo Marchese was dead.
Marchese had been a valuable asset to the Corleonesi during the Second Mafia War
Second Mafia War
The Second Mafia War was a conflict within the Sicilian Mafia, mostly taking place in the early 1980s. As with any criminal organization, the history of the Sicilian Mafia is replete with conflicts and power struggles, and the violence that results from them, but these are generally localised and...
in 1981-83. Afterwards his violent nature was of no further use, and potentially marked him out as a threat to the leadership of the Corleonesi bosses, Salvatore Riina
Salvatore Riina
Salvatore "Totò" Riina is a member of the Sicilian Mafia who became the most powerful member of the criminal organization in the early 1980s. Fellow mobsters nicknamed him The Beast due to his violent nature, or sometimes The Short One due to his diminutive stature...
and Bernardo Provenzano
Bernardo Provenzano
Bernardo Provenzano is a member of the Sicilian Mafia and is suspected of having been the head of the Corleonesi, a Mafia faction that originated in the village of Corleone, and de facto capo di tutti capi of the entire Sicilian Mafia until his arrest in 2006.His nickname is Binnu u tratturi...
. Sometime around the end of 1982, Filippo Marchese was garrotted and dissolved in acid like so many of his own victims. He was so elusive that the authorities did not learn of his death until the late 1980s through an informant.
The man who killed Marchese was Pino Greco. Greco himself was killed in 1985 by two of his own men on Toto Riina's orders, his underboss Vincenzo Puccio
Vincenzo Puccio
Vincenzo Puccio was a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was from Palermo and joined the Ciaculli Mafia family sometime in the late 1970s, although like many other members of that particular family he operated a great deal under the orders of the Corleonesi.- Criminal career :He was arrested...
and a lieutenant, Giuseppe Lucchese
Giuseppe Lucchese
Giuseppe Lucchese is a member of the Sicilian Mafia from the Brancaccio neighbourhood in Palermo. He was one of the favourite hitmen of the Corleonesi, headed by Totò Riina, during the Second Mafia War in 1981-83....
, who later became boss of the Brancaccio
Brancaccio
Brancaccio is a neighbourhood of Palermo, Sicily. It is a semi-traditional area of the working class. It was important in the history of the Cosa Nostra....
-Ciaculli
Ciaculli
Ciaculli is an outlying suburb of Palermo, Sicily in Italy. It counts less than 5000 residents. Ciaculli is close to the suburb of Croceverde. Ciaculli has been important within the history of the Cosa Nostra. The best known Mafia family is the Greco Mafia clan...
mandamento
Mandamento
Historically a mandamento was the part of Italian territory under the jurisdiction of a "pretore" which is a kind of magistrate. These divisions were abolished in 1923....
after Puccio was killed.
Filippo Marchese's two nephews, Antonino and Giuseppe Marchese
Giuseppe Marchese
Giuseppe Marchese was a member of the Sicilian Mafia, who turned state witness . Giuseppe Pino Marchese was born in Palermo. His father Vincenzo Marchese was a powerful Mafia boss and his uncle Filippo Marchese was the head of the Corso dei Mille Mafia family.-Early Mafia career:He learned the...
, subsequently murdered Vincenzo Puccio in 1989 on Riina's orders, but then Riina deliberately destroyed their alibi. Giuseppe Marchese
Giuseppe Marchese
Giuseppe Marchese was a member of the Sicilian Mafia, who turned state witness . Giuseppe Pino Marchese was born in Palermo. His father Vincenzo Marchese was a powerful Mafia boss and his uncle Filippo Marchese was the head of the Corso dei Mille Mafia family.-Early Mafia career:He learned the...
became a pentito
Pentito
Pentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations...
in September 1992 after he realized his godfather and mentor Riina had betrayed him.
Marchese’s niece, Vincenza Marchese, was married to Leoluca Bagarella
Leoluca Bagarella
Leoluca Bagarella is an Italian criminal and member of the Sicilian Mafia. He is from the town of Corleone and was a member of the Corleonesi.-Biography:...
of the Corleonesi
Corleonesi
The Corleonesi is the name given to a faction within the Sicilian Mafia that dominated Cosa Nostra in the 1980s and the 1990s. It was called the Corleonesi because its most important leaders came from the town of Corleone, first Luciano Leggio and later Totò Riina, Bernardo Provenzano and Leoluca...
clan and Totò Riina's brother-in-law. Bagarella was rumoured to have killed his wife Vincenza sometime after her brother Giuseppe Marchese
Giuseppe Marchese
Giuseppe Marchese was a member of the Sicilian Mafia, who turned state witness . Giuseppe Pino Marchese was born in Palermo. His father Vincenzo Marchese was a powerful Mafia boss and his uncle Filippo Marchese was the head of the Corso dei Mille Mafia family.-Early Mafia career:He learned the...
co-operated with the government and became a pentito
Pentito
Pentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations...
(informant). When Bagarella was arrested on June 24, 1995 – after four years on the run with his wife –there was no sign of Vincenza, just a bunch of flowers in front of her picture on the mantelpiece – a sign of mourning. However, other sources said that Vincenza had committed suicide after her brother began collaborating with authorities. Another version was that she was clinically depressed, after a series of miscarriages. She had left a letter declaring her shame and asking her husband for forgiveness.