Mariano Agate (19 May 1939 in

Mazara del Vallo Mazara del Vallo (; is a city and in the province of Trapani, northwestern Sicily, Italy. It lies mainly on the left bank at the mouth of the Mazaro river. It is an agricultural and fishing centre and its port gives shelter to the largest fi ...

– 3 April 2013 in Mazara del Vallo) was a member of the

Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a secret society, criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of ...

. He was the boss of

Mafia family since the 1970s when he replaced the old boss Mariano Licari. He also was the boss of the mandamento of Mazara, including the Mafia families of

Marsala Marsala (, ; ) is an Italian comune located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth largest in Sicily.The town is famous for the docking of Giuseppe Garibal ...

, Salemi and Vita. Agate was a member of "Iside", one of the most powerful local

Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

lodges. In the 1980s, Agate supported the

Corleonesi 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 wer ...

faction during the

Second Mafia War The Second Mafia War was a period of conflict involving the Sicilian Mafia, mostly taking place from 1981 to 1993. It involved thousands of homicides, the deadliest of which incident left 40 dead in 1987. Sometimes referred to as The Great Mafia ...

and became the most important ally of Totò Riina in the

province of Trapani The province of Trapani (; ; officially ''libero consorzio comunale di Trapani'') is a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it was replaced in 2015 by ...

. He also became a member of the

Sicilian Mafia Commission The Sicilian Mafia Commission (Italian: ''Commissione provinciale''), known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Sicilian Mafia members who decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicili ...

. Agate was arrested in 1982 for heroin trafficking. In 1985 he was sentenced to life for several murders, including those of judge Giacomo Ciaccio Montalto and the mayor of

Castelvetrano Castelvetrano () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Trapani, Sicily, southern Italy. The archeological site of Selinunte is located within the municipal territory. The municipality borders with Campobello di Mazara, Mazara del Vall ...

, Vito LipariVito Lipari. Agate was arrested again in 1992, after his release the year before. He was sentenced for life for the murders of the Antimafia judges

Giovanni Falcone Giovanni Falcone (; 18 May 1939 – 23 May 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian ...

and

Paolo Borsellino Paolo Emanuele Borsellino (; 19 January 1940 – 19 July 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of ...

.Stragi del '92, tredici ergastoli
La Sicilia online, 21 April 2006 In the 1990s, members of his clan worked together with the 'Ndrangheta clan headed by Giuseppe Morabito from

Africo Africo (Central-Southern Calabrian, Calabrian: ; ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Reggio Calabria, in the Southern Italian region of Calabria located from Reggio Calabria. Africo consists of two main centers. The first, Africo Vecchio (Old A ...

to import

hashish Hashish (; ), usually abbreviated as hash, is a Compression (physics), compressed form of resin (trichomes) derived from the cannabis flowers. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, As a Psychoactive drug, psychoactive ...

from Morocco and cocaine from Latin America.Activity carried out and the results gathered during the period June – December 2000
by the Direzione Investigativa Antimafia Despite being jailed, in 2004 he was accused of running an international cocaine trafficking ring with several

'Ndrangheta The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a mafia-type organized crime, criminal syndicate originating from the Calabria region of Italy. Gratteri & Nicaso, ''Fratelli di Sangue'', pp. 65–68 This body, also referred to as the Commission in reference to the ...

clans (the Marando, Trimboli and Barbaro clans from

Platì Platì (; ) is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Reggio Calabria, in Calabria, southern Italy. It rises above sea level on the slope of the Aspromonte mountains and is located next to the Aspromonte National Park. History P ...

in particular), supported by his son Epifanio Agate and Salvatore Miceli, a fugitive in Colombia. Although incarcerated under the strict 41-bis prison regime he instructed his son on how to run the business.Dalla cella dava ordini al figlio laureato
, Il Messaggero, 1 June 2003 Agate died at home on 3 April 2013. He had been granted house arrest for serious health reasons. Agate was ill for some time with cancer. The authorities banned a public funeral to guarantee public order and security.Muore il braccio destro di Totò Riina
Corriere della Mezzogiorno, 4 April 2013

References

Bibliography

* Stille, Alexander (1995).''Excellent Cadavers. The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic'', New York: Vintage 1939 births 2013 deaths People from Mazara del Vallo Sicilian mafiosi Sicilian Mafia Commission Italian crime bosses 20th-century Italian criminals Italian people convicted of manslaughter Italian people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Italy Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Italy Sicilian mafiosi sentenced to life imprisonment {{Italy-crime-bio-stub