Calogero Bagarella
Encyclopedia
Calogero Bagarella was an Italian criminal and member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was from the town of Corleone
and belonged to the Mafia clan of Corleonesi
.
to a family of Mafiosi that gave Cosa Nostra various affiliates. He was the second son of Salvatore Bagarella and Lucia Mondello, who moved to the town of Corleone after marriage. This union produced six children which other than Calogero, included Giuseppe, Leoluca
, Antonietta and Maria Giovanna. The family lived without any problems for a short while, until Salvatore Bagarella was sent to confinement in Northern Italy from 1963 to 1968 for Mafia-related crimes. Calogero's brother, Giuseppe would eventually meet the same fate, eventually dying in prison in 1972. His mother was thus forced to work from home to support the family, while the children went to school. As a boy, Calogero worked at a mill with his childhood friend Bernardo Provenzano
, but barely managed to earn enough to take a little flout home to his family.
From the second half of the fifties, Calogero Bagarella became affiliated with the Corleonesi clan headed by the doctor, Michele Navarra
and was a lieutenant of Navarra's right hand man Luciano Leggio
along with Bernardo Provenzano and Salvatore Riina
. In fact, Bagarella was the third most important figure in the Leggio faction of the Corleonesi, behind Leggio and Riina. From 1958 to 1963, Bagarella fought in the internal clan war against his former boss, Michele Navarra. After Navarra was murdered on August 2, 1958, Bagarella became known as one of the most fearsome and ruthless killers in all of Sicily
.
He was tried in absentia and acquitted of all charges laid against him at the trial which took place after the First Mafia War at Bari
on June 11, 1969. On December 10, 1969, Bagarella was killed in an attack on Mafia boss Michele Cavataio
, the boss of the Acquasanta quarter in the Viale Lazio in Palermo
, known as the Viale Lazio massacre
. He was part of a Mafia hit-squad consisting of Bernardo Provenzano, Emanuele D’Agostino of Stefano Bontade
’s Santa Maria di Gesù Family and Damiano Caruso a soldier of Giuseppe Di Cristina
, the Mafia boss of Riesi
. After Bagarella's death, his younger brother Leoluca became one of the most famous and ruthless killers in Sicily.
Bagarella was very close to Salvatore Riina and Bernaro Provenzano since childhood. It was discovered after his death that his girlfriend was Arcangella Riina, one of the younger sisters of Salvatore. Riina, on the other hand, was also the boyfriend of Bagarella's younger sister Antonietta, whom he eventually married in 1974.
Corleone
Corleone is a small town and comune of approximately 12,000 inhabitants in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy....
and belonged to the Mafia clan of Corleonesi
Corleonesi
The Corleonesi is the name given to a faction within the Sicilian Mafia that dominated Cosa Nostra in the 1980s and the 1990s. It was called the Corleonesi because its most important leaders came from the town of Corleone, first Luciano Leggio and later Totò Riina, Bernardo Provenzano and Leoluca...
.
Biography
Calogero Bagarella was born in CorleoneCorleone
Corleone is a small town and comune of approximately 12,000 inhabitants in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy....
to a family of Mafiosi that gave Cosa Nostra various affiliates. He was the second son of Salvatore Bagarella and Lucia Mondello, who moved to the town of Corleone after marriage. This union produced six children which other than Calogero, included Giuseppe, Leoluca
Leoluca Bagarella
Leoluca Bagarella is an Italian criminal and member of the Sicilian Mafia. He is from the town of Corleone and was a member of the Corleonesi.-Biography:...
, Antonietta and Maria Giovanna. The family lived without any problems for a short while, until Salvatore Bagarella was sent to confinement in Northern Italy from 1963 to 1968 for Mafia-related crimes. Calogero's brother, Giuseppe would eventually meet the same fate, eventually dying in prison in 1972. His mother was thus forced to work from home to support the family, while the children went to school. As a boy, Calogero worked at a mill with his childhood friend Bernardo Provenzano
Bernardo Provenzano
Bernardo Provenzano is a member of the Sicilian Mafia and is suspected of having been the head of the Corleonesi, a Mafia faction that originated in the village of Corleone, and de facto capo di tutti capi of the entire Sicilian Mafia until his arrest in 2006.His nickname is Binnu u tratturi...
, but barely managed to earn enough to take a little flout home to his family.
From the second half of the fifties, Calogero Bagarella became affiliated with the Corleonesi clan headed by the doctor, Michele Navarra
Michele Navarra
Michele Navarra was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was a qualified physician and headed the Mafia Family from the town of Corleone...
and was a lieutenant of Navarra's right hand man Luciano Leggio
Luciano Leggio
Luciano Leggio was an Italian criminal and leading figure of the Sicilian Mafia. He was the head of the Corleonesi, the Mafia faction that originated in the town of Corleone...
along with Bernardo Provenzano and Salvatore Riina
Salvatore Riina
Salvatore "Totò" Riina is a member of the Sicilian Mafia who became the most powerful member of the criminal organization in the early 1980s. Fellow mobsters nicknamed him The Beast due to his violent nature, or sometimes The Short One due to his diminutive stature...
. In fact, Bagarella was the third most important figure in the Leggio faction of the Corleonesi, behind Leggio and Riina. From 1958 to 1963, Bagarella fought in the internal clan war against his former boss, Michele Navarra. After Navarra was murdered on August 2, 1958, Bagarella became known as one of the most fearsome and ruthless killers in all of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
.
He was tried in absentia and acquitted of all charges laid against him at the trial which took place after the First Mafia War at Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
on June 11, 1969. On December 10, 1969, Bagarella was killed in an attack on Mafia boss Michele Cavataio
Michele Cavataio
Michele Cavataio , also known as The Cobra was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was the boss of the Acquasanta mandamento in Palermo and was a member of the first Sicilian Mafia Commission. Some sources spell his surname as Cavatajo.Cavataio was one of the most feared mafioso gangsters...
, the boss of the Acquasanta quarter in the Viale Lazio in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, known as the Viale Lazio massacre
Viale Lazio massacre
The Viale Lazio massacre on December 10, 1969, was a settling of accounts in the Sicilian Mafia. Mafia boss Michele Cavataio and three men were killed in the Viale Lazio in Palermo by a Mafia hit squad...
. He was part of a Mafia hit-squad consisting of Bernardo Provenzano, Emanuele D’Agostino of Stefano Bontade
Stefano Bontade
Stefano Bontade was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Some sources spell his surname Bontate. He was the capomafia of the Santa Maria di Gesù Family in Palermo...
’s Santa Maria di Gesù Family and Damiano Caruso a soldier of Giuseppe Di Cristina
Giuseppe Di Cristina
Giuseppe Di Cristina was a powerful mafioso from Riesi in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, southern Italy...
, the Mafia boss of Riesi
Riesi
Riesi is a comune in the Province of Caltanissetta in the Italian region Sicily, located about 110 kilometres southeast of Palermo and about 20 kilometres south of Caltanissetta...
. After Bagarella's death, his younger brother Leoluca became one of the most famous and ruthless killers in Sicily.
Bagarella was very close to Salvatore Riina and Bernaro Provenzano since childhood. It was discovered after his death that his girlfriend was Arcangella Riina, one of the younger sisters of Salvatore. Riina, on the other hand, was also the boyfriend of Bagarella's younger sister Antonietta, whom he eventually married in 1974.