Giovanni Falcone

Giovanni Falcone, (May 18, 1939 ? May 23, 1992), was an Italian judge who specialised in prosecuting mafia crimes.

Related Topics:
Giovanni Falcone - May 18 - 1939 - May 23 - 1992 - Italian - Judge - Mafia - Crime

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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 Anti-mafia judges, and equally sad fates: both were killed (less than two months apart) in particularly audacious bomb attacks in 1992.

Related Topics:
Paolo Borsellino - Palermo - Mafia - Judge - 1992

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Falcone was one of the major organizers of the Maxi Trial of the mid-1980s that saw hundreds of Mafiosi convicted of serious crimes. One of the most important factors in the trial was the testimony of Tommaso Buscetta, the first ever Sicilian Mafioso to become an informant. It was Falcone to whom Buscetta preferred to speak when giving up the secrets of the Mafia, as Buscetta later claimed that, whilst other judges and detectives patronized him, Falcone treated him with respect.

Related Topics:
Maxi Trial - 1980s - Tommaso Buscetta

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Falcone was killed with his wife Francesca Morvillo (herself a judge) and three policemen: Rocco Di Cillo, Antonio Montinaro, Vito Schifani, in Capaci on the motorway between Palermo International Airport and the city of Palermo on May 23, 1992. The car in which he was travelling was blown up by a bomb that had been placed under the asphalt of the road. When passing over the bomb, Falcone was driving his car at an estimated speed of nearly 160 km/h.

Related Topics:
Capaci - Palermo International Airport - Palermo - May 23 - 1992

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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 life for sanctioning the murders of both judges 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.

Related Topics:
Salvatore Riina - Giovanni Brusca

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Palermo airport is now also known by the name Falcone-Borsellino Airport in honour of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. A memorial by local sculptor Tommaso Geraci can be found there.

Related Topics:
Paolo Borsellino - Sculptor - Tommaso Geraci

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