Mario Prestifilippo ( 7 December 1958 – 29 September 1987) 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 briefly the boss of the Ciaculli Mafia Family after Giuseppe Greco was murdered in 1985. He played a significant role as a hitman in the Second Mafia War of the early 1980s orchestrated by Salvatore Riina. He was supposedly under the orders of

Michele Greco Michele Greco (; 12 May 1924 – 13 February 2008) was a member of the Sicilian Mafia and a convicted murderer. Greco died in prison while serving multiple life sentences. His nickname was ''Il Papa'' ("The Pope") due to his ability to mediate b ...

but Greco was himself regarded as little more than a puppet of Riina. He was a member of the death squad of the Corleonesi clan that was commanded by Greco and took part in many significant murders during the war from 1981–1982 including the Circonvallazione massacre on 16 June 1982. Prestifilippo was shot to death by two killers armed with a shotgun and an

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...

as he sped through the streets of Bagheria on 29 September 1987 on a

motorbike A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat. Motorcycle designs var ...

, moving from one hiding place to another.Stille, ''Excellent Cadavers'', p. 200-01 He was killed because he protested against the execution of Pino Greco, who was a close friend of his. At the time of his death, 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 ...

, suspected of dozens of

murders Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

, and was being tried ''in absentia'' at the

Maxi Trial The Maxi Trial () was a criminal trial against the Sicilian Mafia that took place in Palermo, Sicily. The trial lasted from 10 February 1986 (the first day of the Corte d'Assise) to 30 January 1992 (the final day of the Supreme Court of Cassati ...

References

* Stille, Alexander (1995), ''Excellent Cadavers. The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic'', Vintage 1987 deaths Sicilian mafiosi Greco Mafia clan Murdered Mafiosi People murdered in Sicily Year of birth uncertain {{Italy-crime-bio-stub