Francesco Madonia
Encyclopedia
Francesco Ciccio Madonia (Palermo, March 31, 1924 – Napels, 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 Resuttana Mafia family and mandamento
. He replaced Antonino Matranga, murdered in 1970, and strongly supported the Corleonesi
during the Second Mafia War
in 1981-83. In 1987, at the Maxi Trial
, 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.
, the Christian Democrat
president of the autonomous region of Sicily
in 1980; general Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa
, the prefect of Palermo
in 1982; police chief Ninni Cassarà in 1986; and Libero Grassi
, the Palermitan businessman who was killed by the Mafia
after refusing to pay extortion
money, known as "pizzo
". Francesco Madonia was involved in the failed bomb attack against Antimafia judge Giovanni Falcone
at Addaura in 1989 (which is in the Resuttana mandamento) and the killings of Falcone and his colleague Paolo Borsellino
in 1992.
He was arrested in 1987 together with his son Giuseppe Madonia. However, despite his life sentence at the Maxi Trial
, 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, member of parliament suspected of mafia ties.
Francesco Madonia has been convicted for ordering the killing of Libero Grassi
in 1991, the Palermo
businessman who refused to pay protection
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.
.
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.
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.
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...
boss of the San Lorenzo-Pallavicino area 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...
. In 1978 he became a member of the Sicilian Mafia Commission
Sicilian Mafia Commission
The Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
.
Ciccio Madonia became the unquestioned patriarch of the Resuttana Mafia family and 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....
. He replaced Antonino Matranga, murdered in 1970, and strongly supported 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...
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. In 1987, 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...
, 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, such as the murder of Piersanti MattarellaPiersanti Mattarella
Piersanti Mattarella was an Italian politician. He was assassinated by the Mafia while he held the position of President of the Regional Government of Sicily.-Background and early career:...
, the Christian Democrat
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
president of the autonomous region of Sicily
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,...
in 1980; general Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa
Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa
Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa was a general of the Italian carabinieri notable for campaigning against terrorism during the 1970s in Italy, and later assassinated by the Mafia in Palermo.-Biography:...
, the prefect of 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...
in 1982; police chief Ninni Cassarà in 1986; and Libero Grassi
Libero Grassi
Libero Grassi was an Italian clothing manufacturer from Palermo, Sicily, who was killed by the Mafia after taking a solitary stand against their extortion demands, known as "pizzo" in Sicilian....
, the Palermitan businessman who was killed by the 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...
after refusing to pay extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
money, known as "pizzo
Pizzo (extortion)
In Southern Italy, the pizzo is protection money paid by a business to the Mafia, usually coerced and constituting extortion. The term is derived from the Sicilian pizzu . To wet someone's beak is to pay protection money...
". Francesco Madonia was involved in the failed bomb attack against Antimafia judge Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone was an Sicilian/Italian prosecuting magistrate born in Palermo, Sicily. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Mafia in Sicily...
at Addaura in 1989 (which is in the Resuttana mandamento) and the killings of Falcone and his colleague 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....
in 1992.
He was arrested in 1987 together with his son Giuseppe Madonia. However, despite his life sentence 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...
, the most important Mafia bosses of the Commission
Sicilian Mafia Commission
The Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
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, member of parliament suspected of mafia ties.
Extortion
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. 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.Francesco Madonia has been convicted for ordering the killing of Libero Grassi
Libero Grassi
Libero Grassi was an Italian clothing manufacturer from Palermo, Sicily, who was killed by the Mafia after taking a solitary stand against their extortion demands, known as "pizzo" in Sicilian....
in 1991, the 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...
businessman who refused to pay protection
Protection racket
A protection racket is an extortion scheme whereby a criminal group or individual coerces a victim to pay money, supposedly for protection services against violence or property damage. Racketeers coerce reticent potential victims into buying "protection" by demonstrating what will happen if they...
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.
Death
He died on March 13, 2007, in a prison hospital in Naples where he was serving his life sentences under the severe conditions of the article 41-bis prison regimeArticle 41-bis prison regime
In Italian law, Article 41-bis of the Prison Administration Act is a provision that allows the Minister of Justice or the Minister of the Interior to suspend certain prison regulations...
.
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.
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.