Maurizio Di Gati (; born July 10, 1966 in

Racalmuto Racalmuto ( scn, Racalmutu; from the Arabic ''raḥl mawt'', "village of death" or ''raḥl Ḥammūd'', " Hammoud's village") is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian Autonomous Region of Sicily, located about ...

) is a Sicilian mafioso and considered to be the boss of the

Agrigento Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one o ...

province before his arrest in November 2006.

Background

Di Gati was born in Racalmuto, in the

province of Agrigento The Province of Agrigento ( it, Provincia di Agrigento; scn, Pruvincia di Girgenti; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Agrigento'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy, situated on its south-western coast. Follo ...

, the hometown of the famous Sicilian writer

Leonardo Sciascia Leonardo Sciascia (; 8 January 1921 – 20 November 1989) was an Italian writer, novelist, essayist, playwright, and politician. Some of his works have been made into films, including '' Porte Aperte'' (1990; ''Open Doors''), ''Cadaveri Eccellent ...

. He became a barber. However, when in 1991 his elder brother Diego Di Gati was killed in a vendetta with a rival mafia-like group, the

Stidda The Stidda (; ) is a Sicilian & Maltese Mafia-type criminal organization and criminal society centered in the central-southern part of Sicily & Malta. Members are known as ''stiddari'' or ''stiddaroli''. It is most active in the rural parts o ...

, he decided to become a ' man of honour' to avenge his brother.Agrigento, arrestato latitante pluriomicida
La Sicilia, November 26, 2006
, Agrigentonotizie.it, November 26, 2006 He was supposed to be made ''capoprovincia'' at a meeting of Mafia families from Agrigento on July 14, 2002 in

Santa Margherita di Belice Santa Margherita di Belice ( Sicilian: ''Santa Margarita'') is a town in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region of Sicily. It lies in southwest Sicily, above sea level, near where the borders of the Province of Agrigento, Province of Tr ...

. Di Gati was sponsored by

Antonino Giuffrè Antonino "Nino" Giuffrè (; born 21 July 1945) is an Italian mafioso from Caccamo in the Province of Palermo, Sicily. He became one of the most important Mafia turncoats after his arrest in April 2002. Giuffrè was known in Mafia circles as (" ...

, while

Bernardo Provenzano Bernardo Provenzano (; 31 January 1933 – 13 July 2016) was an Italian mobster and chief of the Sicilian Mafia clan known as the Corleonesi, a Mafia faction that originated in the town of Corleone, and ''de facto'' the boss of bosses (''il capo ...

preferred Giuseppe Falsone from Campobello di Licata.

Disappearance and capture

However, the police interrupted the summit. Di Gati was able to escape before the raid. He stepped aside as provincial boss for Falsone due to the opposition of Provenzano to his position and after the arrest of Giuffrè. Di Gati was arrested on November 25, 2006, in Villaggio Mosè, near

. He was a

fugitive A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

since 1999, when he was convicted to six years incarceration for Mafia conspiracy. In December 2006 he decided to become a collaborating state witness and whisteblower on the cosa nostra corleonesi clan (

pentito ''Pentito'' (; lit. "repentant"; plural: ''pentiti'') is used colloquially to designate collaborators of justice in Italian criminal procedure terminology who were formerly part of criminal organizations and decided to collaborate with a public ...

).Si è pentito il boss Maurizio Di Gati, trema la mafia in provincia di Agrigento
, Agrigentonotizie.it, December 15, 2006

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Di Gati, Maurizio 1966 births Living people Pentiti People from Racalmuto Gangsters from the Province of Agrigento