Vincenzo Curcio a member of the Sicilian 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...

, is famous for escaping from his Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

 prison cell by sawing through the bars of his cell with dental floss

Dental floss

Dental floss is made of either a bundle of thin nylon filaments or a plastic ribbon used to remove food and dental plaque from teeth. The floss is gently inserted between the teeth and scraped along the teeth sides, especially close to the gums. Dental floss may be flavored or unflavored, and...

 on March 17, 2000.

Biography

Curcio was convicted of one murder and arranging seven others. The jail had been built in the 1970s and was designed to withstand outside attacks rather than breakouts, and as such the bars were made of iron low in carbon which were ductile but easy to saw through. Curcio tied bedsheets together and climbed down to the ground, scaling the outer fence to gain his freedom.

On July 11, 2000, Curcio was captured in Pancalieri

Pancalieri

Pancalieri is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 30 km southwest of Turin. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,969 and an area of 16.0 km²....

, in the Province of Turin.