Raffaele Ganci
Encyclopedia
Raffaele Ganci is a member of the Mafia
in Sicily
from the Noce neighbourhood in Palermo
. He was considered to be the right hand man of Cosa Nostra boss Totò Riina and sat on the Sicilian Mafia Commission
.
of Riina and sided with them against other Palermitan Mafia families in the Second Mafia War
. He is held responsible for the killings of Riina’s rivals Stefano Bontade
and Salvatore Inzerillo
in 1981. He is sentenced to life for the killing of general Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa
, the prefect of Palermo, appointed to crack down on Cosa Nostra in 1982.
Riina appointed him on the Sicilian Mafia Commission in 1983 for the Noce mandamento
. As a member of the Commission he was responsible for ordering the killings of Antimafia magistrates Giovanni Falcone
and Paolo Borsellino
in 1992.
in Via Pipitone Federico and the one of Giovanni Falcone
. The wives of the judges regularly bought meat there, while the Ganci’s plotted the killing of their husbands.
On June 10, 1993, Raffaele Ganci was arrested in Terrasini
after five years on the run, together with his son Calogero Ganci and his son-in-law Francesco Paolo Anselmo.
, became a witness for the prosecution, in 1996, and confessed to more than 100 murders. He also gave testimony about his father and his brothers and their involvement in Mafia killings such as the car-bomb that killed Antimafia judge Chinnici in 1983, police officers Ninni Cassarà, captain D'Aleo and the first pentito
, Leonardo Vitale
.
Raffaele Ganci was involved in the decision to kill the Antimafia judges Falcone and Borsellino, and he and his sons participated in the execution of the bomb attacks. Ganci had doubts about the terrorist campaign in 1993, a series of bomb attacks in 1993 in the Via dei Georgofili in Florence
, in Via Palestro in Milan
and in the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano and Via San Teodoro in Rome
, which left 10 people dead and 93 injured as well as damage to centres of cultural heritage such as the Uffizi
Gallery. According to his son Calogero: "My father told me that Cosa Nostra was ruined by the massacres decided by Riina."
Currently he is incarcerated serving several life sentences under the strict article 41-bis prison regime
.
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
in 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,...
from the Noce neighbourhood 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...
. He was considered to be the right hand man of Cosa Nostra boss Totò Riina and sat on the Sicilian Mafia Commission
Sicilian Mafia Commission
The Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
.
Riina loyalist
Ganci was close to the CorleonesiCorleonesi
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...
of Riina and sided with them against other Palermitan Mafia families in the Second Mafia War
Second Mafia War
The Second Mafia War was a conflict within the Sicilian Mafia, mostly taking place in the early 1980s. As with any criminal organization, the history of the Sicilian Mafia is replete with conflicts and power struggles, and the violence that results from them, but these are generally localised and...
. He is held responsible for the killings of Riina’s rivals 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...
and Salvatore Inzerillo
Salvatore Inzerillo
Salvatore Inzerillo was an Italian criminal, a member of the Sicilian Mafia, also known as Totuccio . He rose to be a powerful boss of Palermo's Passo di Rigano family...
in 1981. He is sentenced to life for the killing of general Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa
Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa
Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa was a general of the Italian carabinieri notable for campaigning against terrorism during the 1970s in Italy, and later assassinated by the Mafia in Palermo.-Biography:...
, the prefect of Palermo, appointed to crack down on Cosa Nostra in 1982.
Riina appointed him on the Sicilian Mafia Commission in 1983 for the Noce mandamento
Mandamento
Historically a mandamento was the part of Italian territory under the jurisdiction of a "pretore" which is a kind of magistrate. These divisions were abolished in 1923....
. As a member of the Commission he was responsible for ordering the killings of Antimafia magistrates Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone was an Sicilian/Italian prosecuting magistrate born in Palermo, Sicily. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Mafia in Sicily...
and Paolo Borsellino
Paolo Borsellino
Paolo Borsellino was an Italian anti-Mafia magistrate who was killed by a Mafia car bomb in Palermo, less than two months after his fellow anti-Mafia magistrate Giovanni Falcone had been assassinated....
in 1992.
Butcher shop
The family ran a popular butcher shop in the Via Lo Jacono. During the day Raffaele Ganci and his sons Calogero, Stefano and Domenico attended clients, while they went on killing sprees at night. The shop was located somewhere between the residences of Antimafia judges Rocco ChinniciRocco Chinnici
Rocco Chinnici was a noted Italian Antimafia magistrate killed by the Mafia.-Life:Born at Misilmeri, Chinnici graduated in law at the University of Palermo in 1947 and started working as a magistrate in 1952 in Trapani. In 1966 he moved to the prosecutors office in Palermo...
in Via Pipitone Federico and the one of Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone
Giovanni Falcone was an Sicilian/Italian prosecuting magistrate born in Palermo, Sicily. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Mafia in Sicily...
. The wives of the judges regularly bought meat there, while the Ganci’s plotted the killing of their husbands.
On June 10, 1993, Raffaele Ganci was arrested in Terrasini
Terrasini
Terrasini is a town and comune in the Province of Palermo on the island of Sicily in Italy.-Data:Terrasini is located west of Palermo at the motorway between Palermo and Trapani, between the mountains and the Gulf of Castellammare near the Palermo International Airport.Terrasini's population works...
after five years on the run, together with his son Calogero Ganci and his son-in-law Francesco Paolo Anselmo.
Son repents
His son Calogero Ganci a pentitoPentito
Pentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations...
, became a witness for the prosecution, in 1996, and confessed to more than 100 murders. He also gave testimony about his father and his brothers and their involvement in Mafia killings such as the car-bomb that killed Antimafia judge Chinnici in 1983, police officers Ninni Cassarà, captain D'Aleo and the first pentito
Pentito
Pentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations...
, Leonardo Vitale
Leonardo Vitale
Leonardo Vitale was a member of the Sicilian Mafia who was one of the first to become an informant, or pentito, although originally his confessions were not taken seriously. Vitale was a man of honour or member of the Altarello di Baida cosca or family, Altarello being a small village just outside...
.
Raffaele Ganci was involved in the decision to kill the Antimafia judges Falcone and Borsellino, and he and his sons participated in the execution of the bomb attacks. Ganci had doubts about the terrorist campaign in 1993, a series of bomb attacks in 1993 in the Via dei Georgofili in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, in Via Palestro in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and in the Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano and Via San Teodoro in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, which left 10 people dead and 93 injured as well as damage to centres of cultural heritage such as the Uffizi
Uffizi
The Uffizi Gallery , is a museum in Florence, Italy. It is one of the oldest and most famous art museums of the Western world.-History:...
Gallery. According to his son Calogero: "My father told me that Cosa Nostra was ruined by the massacres decided by Riina."
Currently he is incarcerated serving several life sentences under the strict article 41-bis prison regime
Article 41-bis prison regime
In Italian law, Article 41-bis of the Prison Administration Act is a provision that allows the Minister of Justice or the Minister of the Interior to suspend certain prison regulations...
.