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Caltagirone Mafia Clan
The Caltagirone Mafia family, also known as the La Rocca Mafia clan, is a crime family of the Cosa Nostra based in the town of Caltagirone, Sicily. Founded in the early 1980s by Francesco "Ciccio" La Rocca, the Mafia clan rose to prominence through its involvement in various illicit activities, including extortion, drug trafficking, and political manipulation. History Until the early 1980s, criminal control over the city of Caltagirone and the surrounding area was exercised by the Catania Mafia family. However, the consolidation of a local criminal structure occurred in 1982, with Francesco "Ciccio" La Rocca, who succeeded in establishing an autonomous Mafia family rooted in the town of San Michele di Ganzaria, just outside Caltagirone. Francesco “Ciccio” La Rocca, born in 1938, became affiliated with Cosa Nostra in 1956 at the age of 18. From modest beginnings as a livestock farmer, he would rise to become an important Mafia boss. This move marked the beginning of local ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francesco La Rocca
Francesco "Ciccio" La Rocca (1938 – 22 December 2020) was a notorious Sicilian mafioso and the first capo of the Caltagirone Mafia family, known for his brutal methods, strategic mediation between mafia factions, and influential role in regional criminal and political affairs. History Born in 1938 in San Michele di Ganzaria, in the province of Catania, La Rocca's criminal career began in the 1950s, when he was initiated into the mafia at the age of 18 by Calogero Conti, then head of the Ramacca Mafia family. Initially assigned as a "soldato" in the Mazzarino Mafia family, which is part of the Riesi mandamento, his rise through the ranks was marked by strategic mediation, strict adherence to traditional Cosa Nostra codes, and a brutal reputation. In 1982, after two decades within the Mazzarino Mafia, La Rocca established his own autonomous Mafia family in Caltagirone, closely aligned with the Catania Mafia family, headed by Benedetto Santapaola. Following a violent mafi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catania Mafia Clan
The Catania Mafia family, currently also referred to as the Santapaola-Ercolano Mafia clan, is a crime family of the Cosa Nostra that dominates organized crime activities in the city of Catania and its province. The Catania Mafia quietly evolved into one of the most powerful and violent factions within the Cosa Nostra. Rooted in family ties and political connections, the organization emerged from the shadows in the mid-20th century under the leadership of Giuseppe Calderone, only to become a militarized empire under his former ally and eventual successor, Benedetto Santapaola. What began as a local effort to control gambling dens and extort businesses soon escalated into a ruthless criminal dynasty, whose influence reached deep into the economic and institutional fabric of Catania. Today, the Catania Mafia remains a powerful force, still controlled by the Santapaola-Ercolano clan. The organization has adapted to modern times, maintaining influence through extortion, drug trafficki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1980s Establishments In Italy
__NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 198 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire *January 28 **Publius Septimius Geta, son of Septimius Severus, receives the title of Caesar. **Caracalla, son of Septimius Severus, is given the title of Augustus. China *Winter – Battle of Xiapi: The allied armies led by Cao Cao and Liu Bei defeat Lü Bu; afterward Cao Cao has him executed. By topic Religion * Marcus I succeeds Olympianus as Patriarch of Constantinople (until 211). Births * Lu Kai, Chinese official and general (d. 269) * Quan Cong, Chinese general and advisor (d. 249) Deaths * Li Jue, Chinese warlord and regent * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vizzini
Vizzini is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania, on the island of Sicily, southern Italy. It is located from Catania in the Hyblaean Mountains, on the most northwesterly slopes of Monte Lauro. The commune territory is bounded by the comuni of Buccheri, Francofonte, Giarratana, Licodia Eubea, Militello in Val di Catania, Mineo. History Bidis, a Roman city mentioned by Pliny the Elder, Pliny and Cicero, stood here in a territory that has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The modern town developed in the Middle Ages around a now non-extant castle, as a fief of various lords, including the Chiaromontes and the Schittinos, although for many years it was also part of the royal domain. In 1358, Roland of Sicily reconquered the area from Vizzini to Avola. In 1415, the Jewish community of Vizzini was expelled by Blanche I of Navarre, Queen Blanca, and was never permitted to return. On the 14th of July, 1943 the town of Vizzini was liberated from fascist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bari
Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and university city as well as the city of Saint Nicholas. The city itself has a population of 315,473 inhabitants, and an area of over , while the urban area has 750,000 inhabitants. Its Metropolitan City of Bari, metropolitan province has 1.2 million inhabitants. Bari is made up of four different urban sections. To the north is the closely built old town on the peninsula between two modern harbours, with the Basilica di San Nicola, Basilica of Saint Nicholas, the Cathedral of San Sabino (1035–1171) and the Castello Normanno-Svevo (Bari), Norman-Swabian Castle, which is now also a major nightlife district. To the south is the Murat quarter (erected by Joachim Murat), the modern heart of the city, which is laid out on a rectangular grid-plan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Article 41-bis Prison Regime
In Italian law, Article 41-bis of the Prison Administration Act, also known as carcere duro ("hard prison regime"), is a provision that allows the Minister of Justice or the Minister of the Interior to suspend certain prison regulations and impose practically a complete isolation upon a prisoner. It is used against people imprisoned for particular crimes, such as Mafia-type association under 416-bis (), drug trafficking, homicide, aggravated robbery and extortion, kidnapping, terrorism, and attempting to subvert the constitutional system.Long Distance Proceedings Through Videoconference: The Italian Experience , Ministry of Justice (Italy) at the Tenth [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santo Mazzei
Santo Mazzei (born 1953), known as "''‘u carcagnusu''", is a Sicilian mafioso from Catania. He gained notoriety in the early 1990s for a failed coup attempt against Nitto Santapaola's leadership within the Catania Mafia clan, Catania Mafia. Mazzei is currently serving a life sentence in prison. Criminal career Born in 1953 and originally affiliated with the Cursoti clan, a criminal group active in Catania and independent of the Cosa Nostra, Mazzei later distanced himself from that faction and forged a significant alliance with the Corleonesi Mafia clan. This alignment culminated in his formal Initiation ritual (mafia), initiation as a ''man of honour'' in the early 1990s, while he was a fugitive. The ceremony was allegedly attended by the upper echelon of the Catania Mafia family, including, Nitto Santapaola, Vincenzo Aiello and Eugenio Galea, as well as by high-ranking Corleonesi bosses Leoluca Bagarella, Giovanni Brusca, and Antonino Gioè, who regarded Mazzei as their truste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Totò Riina
Salvatore Riina (; 16 November 1930 – 17 November 2017), called Totò ( sicilian diminutive of Salvatore), was an Italian mobster and chief of the Sicilian Mafia, known for a ruthless murder campaign that reached a peak in the early 1990s with the assassinations of Antimafia Commission prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, resulting in widespread public outcry, legal change and a major crackdown by the authorities. He was also known by the nicknames ''la belva'' ("the beast") and ''il capo dei capi'' (Sicilian: '''u capu di 'i capi'', "the boss of bosses"). Riina succeeded Luciano Leggio as head of the Corleonesi criminal organisation in the mid-1970s and achieved dominance through a campaign of violence, which caused police to target his rivals. Riina had been a fugitive since the late 1960s after he was indicted on a murder charge. He was less vulnerable to law enforcement's reaction to his methods, as the policing removed many of the established chiefs who ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cosa Nostra
The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of local protection and control over land and agriculture, the Mafia gradually evolved into a powerful criminal network. By the mid-20th century, it had infiltrated politics, construction, and finance, later expanding into drug trafficking, money laundering, and other crimes. At its core, the Mafia engages in protection racketeering, arbitrating disputes between criminals, and organizing and overseeing illegal agreements and transactions. The basic group is known as a "family", "clan", or '' cosca''. Each family claims sovereignty over a territory, usually a town, village or neighborhood (''borgata'') of a larger city, in which it operates its rackets. Its members call themselves " men of honour", although the public often refers to them as ''mafiosi''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caltagirone
Caltagirone (; or ; ) is an inland city and municipality () in the Metropolitan City of Catania, on the island (and region) of Sicily, Southern Italy, about southwest of Catania. It is the fifth most populous municipality of the Metropolitan City, behind Catania, Acireale, Misterbianco and Paternò. Alongside Catania, it is the only town that has a tribunal seat in the former province. Since 1987, the comune has obtained the City title, through a presidential act. After Caltanissetta, it is the second-most populous in Central Sicily. The town is a production center of pottery, particularly maiolica and terra-cotta wares. Contemporary production is more and more oriented to artistic production of ceramics and terra-cotta sculptures. Other activities are mainly related to agriculture (production of grapes, olives, peaches), third-sector activities, light industry and tourism. History The city's name derives from the Arabic (, "castle of otteryjars") – a name that att ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crime Family
A crime family is a unit of an organized crime syndicate, particularly in the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia, often operating within a specific geographic territory or a specific set of activities. In its strictest sense, a ''family'' (or '' clan'') is a criminal gang, operating either on a unitary basis or as an organized collection of smaller gangs (e.g., ''cells'', ''factions'', ''crews'', etc.). In turn, a family can be a sole "enterprise" or part of a larger syndicate or cartel. Despite the name, most crime families are generally not based on or formed around actual familial connections, although they do tend to be ethnically based, and many members may in fact be related to one another. Crime "families" tend to be associated more directly with their respective territories than the individuals to whom their members may or may not be related. Origins The origins of the term come from the Sicilian Mafia. In the Sicilian language, the word '' cosca'', which is the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corleonesi Mafia Clan
The Corleonesi Mafia clan was a faction within the Corleone family of the Sicilian Mafia, formed in the 1970s. Notable leaders included Luciano Leggio, Salvatore Riina, Bernardo Provenzano, and Leoluca Bagarella. Corleonesi affiliates were not restricted to mafiosi of Corleone. During the Second Mafia War in the early 1980s, the Corleonesi clan opposed the faction of the Palermitans represented, among others, by Gaetano Badalamenti, Stefano Bontate and Salvatore Inzerillo. The victory of the Corleonesi, and in particular the rise of Totò Riina, marked a new era in the history of the Sicilian Mafia. Between 1992 and 1993, the Corleonesi initiated a season of attacks against the state, followed by the State-Mafia Pact. History Beginnings In February 1971, the Corleonesi clan's first boss, Luciano Leggio, ordered the kidnapping for extortion of Antonino Caruso, son of the industrialist Giacomo Caruso, and also that of the son of the builder Francesco Vassallo in Paler ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
