Gerlandino Messina
Encyclopedia
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...
in 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,...
from Porto Empedocle
Porto Empedocle
Porto Empedocle is a town and comune in Italy on the coast of the Strait of Sicily, administratively part of the province of Agrigento. It is the namesake of Empedocles , a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of the city of Agrigentum , in his day a Greek colony in Sicily...
. He has been on the most wanted list of the Italian ministry of the Interior since 1999.
He is the son of Giuseppe Messina, the Mafia boss of Porto Empedocle, who on July 8, 1986, was killed by the Grassonelli clan, which adhered to the Stidda
Stidda
La Stidda is a name for Mafia-type criminal organizations centered in Gela, Sicily, in Italy. Members are known as stiddari or stiddaroli. It is most active in the rural parts of southern Sicily and is partially a rival to Cosa Nostra...
– a criminal organisation rivaling Cosa Nostra. In revenge, six members of the Grassonelli clan were killed on September 21, 1986, in the so-called Porto Empedocle massacre.
He is considered to be one of the bosses of Cosa Nostra in the province of Agrigento
Province of Agrigento
Agrigento is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. It has an area of 3,042 km², and a total population of 454,370...
, jointly with Giuseppe Falsone
Giuseppe Falsone
Giuseppe Falsone is a member of the Sicilian Mafia. His name is sometimes spelled as Falzone. He was on the "Most wanted list" of the Italian ministry of the Interior since January 1999, until his arrest in France in June 2010...
.
On October 23, 2010, he was captured by a special unit of the Carabinieri
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
while he was in his house in Favara
Favara, Agrigento
Favara is a town and comune of south central Sicily , in the province of Agrigento, 8 km East of Agrigento by road.The town has a considerable agricultural trade, and there are sulfur and other mines in the neighborhood.-Main sights:...
, near Agrigento. He was wanted for Mafia association and several murders, such as the killing of police officer Giuliano Guazzelli in April 1992.