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Italian mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano, 83, dies in jail Italian mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano, 83, dies in jail
(35 minutes later)
Italian mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano has died in jail, aged 83. Italian mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano has died in a prison hospital, aged 83.
Provenzano, dubbed "The Tractor" for his ruthless trait of mowing people down, was arrested and jailed in 2006 after spending 43 years on the run.Provenzano, dubbed "The Tractor" for his ruthless trait of mowing people down, was arrested and jailed in 2006 after spending 43 years on the run.
He was said to have taken over command of the Sicilian Mafia after the 1993 arrest of ex-boss Salvatore "Toto" Riina. He took over command of the Sicilian Mafia in 1993 after the arrest of ex-boss Salvatore "Toto" Riina.
Provenzano was serving a life term for several murders, including the killing of two judges in 1992. Provenzano was serving a life term for several murders, including the 1992 killings of top anti-Mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.
He was suffering from bladder cancer and serious cognitive impairment and had spent the last two years in a hospital ward, Italian media report. He was suffering from bladder cancer and serious cognitive impairment and had spent the last two years in a prison hospital ward, Italian media report.
His illnesses had forced the suspension of ongoing negotiations with the state over unresolved crimes. His illnesses had forced the suspension of ongoing negotiations with the state over unresolved crimes. However, even before his health declined, he had resisted any co-operation with the justice system.
Who was Bernardo Provenzano?
Bernardo Provenzano was born on 31 January 1933 in Corleone, a Sicilian town synonymous with Mafia activity which gave its name to the fictional family in the Godfather films.
He was said to have joined the mafia in his late teens, after World War Two.
He rose in the Mafia ranks and along with his friend, Toto Riina, worked for mafioso Luciano Liggio, who reportedly once said Provenzano had "the brains of a chicken but shoots like an angel".
When in 1974 Liggio was jailed, Riina was left in charge with Provenzano his right-hand man.
Once at the helm following Riina's capture, Provenzano reportedly tried to arbitrate between rival Mafia factions competing for business. He was said to have steered away from attacks on high-profile figures that had hardened public opinion against the Mafia and provoked police to respond.
Painstakingly cautious about revealing his whereabouts, Provenzano shunned the phone for hand-delivered "pizzini" notes and moved between farmhouses every two or three nights.
But in April 2006, he was arrested at a farmhouse near Corleone, his birthplace and where his wife and children lived.