He who's afraid dies every day, who's not afraid dies only once.

—Giovanni Falcone

Giovanni Falcone.

Giovanni Falcone (May 18, 1939 – May 23, 1992) was an Italian magistrate who specialised in prosecuting the Sicilian Cosa Nostra. He was killed by the Mafia, together with his wife and three of his bodyguards, by a 350-kg dynamite explosion placed beneath the motorway from Palermo Airport to Palermo at the town of Capaci. is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 143rd day of the year (144th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... A magistrate is a judicial officer. ... Sicily ( in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ... Charles Lucky Luciano, one of the most famous American bosses (La) Cosa Nostra (our thing or this thing of ours in Italian) is a worldwide alliance of criminals, linked through both familial and conspiratorial ties, that is dedicated to pursuing crime and protecting its members. ... This article is about the criminal society. ... Capaci is a town in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy. ...

His life story is quite similar to that of his closest friend Paolo Borsellino. Both shared provenance from a rather poor area of Palermo, had careers as Antimafia magistrates, and equally sad fates: both were killed (less than two months apart) in particularly audacious bomb attacks in 1992. In recognition of their efforts in the anti mafia trials, the pair were named as heroes of the last 60 years in the November 13, 2006 issue of Time Magazine.^[1] Paolo Borsellino (January 19, 1940 - July 19, 1992) was an Italian anti-Mafia magistrate. ... Location of the city of Palermo (red dot) within Italy. ... A magistrate is a judicial officer. ... is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ...

Life

Giovanni Falcone spent part of his youth in the Magione district in his native city Palermo, which suffered extensive destruction by aerial attacks during the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. He was the son of Arturo Falcone, director of a provincial chemical laboratory, and Luisa Bentivegna. After a classical education, Giovanni studied law following a brief period of study at Livorno's naval academy. Graduating in 1961, he began to practice law before being appointed a judge in 1964. Falcone eventually gravitated toward penal law after serving as a district magistrate.^[2] Location of the city of Palermo (red dot) within Italy. ... Belligerents United States United Kingdom Canada Australia South Africa Free French Germany Italy Commanders Dwight D. Eisenhower Harold Alexander Bernard Montgomery George S. Patton Albert Kesselring Alfredo Guzzoni Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin Strength 160,000 personnel 14,000 vehicles 600 tanks 1,800 guns 300,000 Italian personnel 40...

Shortly after the murder of judge Cesare Terranova, Falcone started to work for the investigative branch of the Prosecution Office (Ufficio istruzione) in Palermo. In May 1980, the chief of the office Rocco Chinnici appointed Falcone to investigate a major heroin-trafficking network headed by Rosario Spatola and Salvatore Inzerillo. From Sicily heroin was moved to the Gambino crime family in New York, who were related to the Inzerillos. The prosecuting judge Gaetano Costa who had signed the 53 arrest warrants against the heroin-trafficking network of the Spatola-Inzerillo-Gambino clan in May 1980, was murdered on August 6, 1980, on the orders of Inzerillo. Judge Cesare Terranova Cesare Terranova (August 15, 1921 - September 25, 1979) was a magistrate from Sicily notable for his anti-Mafia stance. ... Location of the city of Palermo (red dot) within Italy. ... Rocco Chinnici became Chief Prosecutor at the Palace of Justice in Palermo following the murder of his predecessor, Cesare Terranova, by the Mafia. ... For other uses, see Heroin (disambiguation). ... Salvatore Inzerillo (died May 11, 1981) was a member of the Sicilian Mafia. ... John Gotti, The Dapper Don The Gambino Crime Family is one of the Five Families that controls organized crime activities based in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia (or Cosa Nostra). ... is the 218th day of the year (219th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ...

Falcone introduced an innovative investigative technique, following "the money trail", to build his case. Subsequently, he became part of Palermo's Antimafia Pool, created by judge Rocco Chinnici. The Antimafia pool was a group of investigating magistrates who closely worked together sharing information to diffuse responsibility and to prevent one person from becoming the sole institutional memory and solitary target. Next to Falcone the group consisted of Paolo Borsellino, Giuseppe Di Lello and Leonardo Guarnotta.^[3] Rocco Chinnici became Chief Prosecutor at the Palace of Justice in Palermo following the murder of his predecessor, Cesare Terranova, by the Mafia. ... Paolo Borsellino (January 19, 1940 - July 19, 1992) was an Italian anti-Mafia magistrate. ...

Maxi Trial

The Antimafia pool laid the groundwork for the Maxi Trial against the Sicilian Mafia at the preliminary investigative phase. After Chinnici’s murder in July 1983, his successor Antonino Caponnetto headed the pool. Falcone was one of the major organizers of the trial that began February 10, 1986 and finished December 16, 1987. Of 474 Mafiosi members originally charged, 360 were convicted of serious crimes, including 119 in absentia. Giovanni Falcone, one of the architects of the Maxi Trial. ... This article is about the criminal society. ... is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 1987. ... This article is about the organized crime groups. ... For other uses, see In absentia (disambiguation). ...

One of the most important factors in the trial was the testimony of Tommaso Buscetta, one of the first ever Sicilian mafiosi to become an informant (pentito). It was Falcone to whom Buscetta preferred to speak when giving up the secrets of the Mafia, as Buscetta later claimed that, whilst other magistrates and detectives patronized him, Falcone treated him with respect. Tommaso Buscetta (Palermo, July 13, 1928- New York, April 4, 2000) was a Sicilian mafioso. ... Tommaso Buscetta (in sunglasses), the first important pentito of Italian Mafia, escorted in a court of law. ... This article is about the criminal society. ...

During 1988 Falcone collaborated with Rudolph Giuliani, at the time U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, in the operations against the Gambino and Inzerillo families. Rudolph William Louis Rudy Giuliani III, KBE (born May 28, 1944) served as the Mayor of New York City from January 1, 1994 through December 31, 2001. ... The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is comprised of the following counties: New York, Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, and Sullivan. ... John Gotti, The Dapper Don The Gambino Crime Family is one of the Five Families that controls organized crime activities based in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia (or Cosa Nostra). ... Salvatore Inzerillo (died May 11, 1981) was a member of the Sicilian Mafia. ...

Assassination

Aerial view of the ambush site.

Sheets exposed in solidarity with Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. They read: "You did not kill them: their ideas walk on our legs".

Falcone was killed with his wife Francesca Morvillo (herself a magistrate) and three policemen: Rocco Di Cillo, Antonio Montinaro, Vito Schifani, in Capaci on the motorway between Palermo International Airport and the city of Palermo ( 38°10′58″N, 13°14′41″E) on May 23, 1992. The car in which he was travelling was blown up by a bomb (350 kg of explosive) that had been placed in trenches dug by the side of the road. When passing over the bomb, Falcone was driving his car at an estimated speed of nearly 100 mph (160 km/h.) Image File history File links Aerial view of the aftermath of the Capaci massacre, in which judge Giovanni Falcone was killed. ... Image File history File links Aerial view of the aftermath of the Capaci massacre, in which judge Giovanni Falcone was killed. ... Sheets commemorating Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. ... Sheets commemorating Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. ... Capaci is a town in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy. ... Palermo International Airport (IATA: PMO, ICAO: LICJ), also known as Falcone-Borsellino Airport and Punta Raisi Airport is located at Punta Raisi, about 35 km (20 miles) west of Palermo, the capital city of the Italian island of Sicily. ... Location of the city of Palermo (red dot) within Italy. ... is the 143rd day of the year (144th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ...

The murder was organized by Salvatore Riina in revenge for Falcone's conviction of dozens of mobsters in the Maxi-Trials. In the major crackdown against the Mafia following Falcone and Borsellino's deaths, Riina was arrested and is now serving a life sentence for sanctioning the murders of both magistrates as well as many other crimes. Another mafioso convicted of the murder of Falcone is Giovanni Brusca, one of Riina's associates who admitted to being the one who actually detonated the explosives. Salvatore Riina, also known as Totò Riina (born November 16, 1930, Corleone) is a member of the Sicilian Mafia who became the most powerful member of the criminal organisation in the early 1980s. ... Giovanni Brusca (born 1957 in San Giuseppe Jato) is a former member of the Sicilian Mafia. ...

Palermo airport is now also known by the name Falcone-Borsellino Airport in honor of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. A memorial by local sculptor Tommaso Geraci can be found there. Palermo International Airport (IATA: PMO, ICAO: LICJ), also known as Falcone-Borsellino Airport and Punta Raisi Airport is located at Punta Raisi, about 35 km (20 miles) west of Palermo, the capital city of the Italian island of Sicily. ... Paolo Borsellino (January 19, 1940 - July 19, 1992) was an Italian anti-Mafia magistrate. ... Sculptor redirects here. ... Tommaso Geraci, sculptor, born 1931 on the Italian island of Sicily. ...

Falcone in film

• The last years of Falcone's life, the Maxi Trial and his assassination are documented in the HBO movie Excellent Cadavers. In this film he is portrayed by Italian-American actor Chazz Palminteri.

• In 2006 a two-episode TV movie was broadcast by Italian state television RAI, dedicated to the magistrate, starring Massimo Dapporto as Falcone and Elena Sofia Ricci as his wife Francesca Morvillo. It covers Falcone's life from the start of his mafia investigations in 1980, up to the assassination.

• In The Best of Youth (La Meglio Gioventù, 2003) part of the movie happens against the backdrop of Falcone's death.^{[citation needed]}

For other uses, see HBO (disambiguation). ... This article is about motion pictures. ... Excellent Cadavers is a documentary on judge Giovanni Falcones fight against the Mafia in Sicily and his assassination on his way from Palermo Airport. ... An Italian American is an American of Italian descent and/or dual citizenship. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... Chazz Palminteri (born May 15, 1952) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor and writer, best known for his performances in The Usaul Suspects, A Bronx Tale and Mulholland Falls. ... A television movie (also TV movie, TV-movie, made-for-TV movie, etc. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

References

• Fava, Claudio (1994). Cinque delitti imperfetti: Impastato, Giuliano, Insalaco, Rostagno, Falcone. Mondadori. 
• Galluzzo, Lucio (1992). Obiettivo Falcone. Pironti. 
• La Licata, Francesco (1993). Storia di Giovanni Falcone. Rizzoli. 
• Lodato, Saverio (1999). Ho ucciso Giovanni Falcone: la confessione di Giovanni Brusca, Mondadori. 
• Monti, Giammaria (1996). Falcone e Borsellino: la calunnia il tradimento la tragedia. Editori Riuniti. 
• Muhm, Raoul; Gian Carlo Caselli (2005). Il ruolo del Pubblico Ministero – Esperienze in Europa. Manziana: Vecchiarelli. ISBN 888247156X. 
• Padovani, Marcelle; Giovanni Falcone (1991). Cose di Cosa Nostra. Milan: Rizzoli. 
• Patroni Griffi, F. (1994). Giovanni Falcone: interventi e proposte (1982 – 1992). Sansoni. 
• Rossi, Luca (1992). I disarmati: Falcone, Cassarà e gli altri. Mondadori. 

External links

• Giovanni and Francesca Falcone Foundation
• Giovanni Falcone TV movie Official RAI home page