Bernardo Provenzano (born January 31, 1933) is a member of the Sicilian Mafia and is suspected of being the head of the Corleonisi, a Mafia Family from the town of Corleone.
In 1948, Provenzano was one of the gunmen who ambushed and shot to death Michele Navarra, who was then the head of the Corleonisi. The murder was ordered by Luciano Leggio who subsequently became the head of the Family. During a mafia war in the early 1960s, Provenzano went into hiding, fearing he would either be arrested or murdered. He married and fathered two sons whilst on the run.
Leggio went to prison for murder in 1974, effectively leaving Toto Riina in charge. Provenzano was suspected of being Riina's right-hand-man. Riina was incredibly ruthless and eventually started the Mafia war of 1981/82 which left over a thousand Mafiosi dead and resulted in the Corleonisi the dominant Mafia Family in Sicily. Provenzano was believed to operate behind the scenes, dealing with the financial side of the criminal enterprises he and Riina orchestrated, particularly heroin trafficking.
Toto Riina was arrested in January 1993 and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering dozens of murders, including the two high-profile bombings that killed judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.
Provenzano, who is believed to have taken over as head of the Corleonisi following Riina's arrest, has not been publicly seen since the early 1960s, and when his wife and children came out from hiding in 1992, many suspected that Provenzano was dead, from natural causes or otherwise.
On January 25, 2005, police raided various homes in Sicily and arrested forty-six Mafia suspects believed to be helping Provenzano elude the authorities. Although they did not catch the elusive Mafia boss himself, investigators nonetheless unearthed evidence that 72-year-old Provenzano is still very much alive.
Provenzano has been a fugative from the law ever since his involvement in the killing of Michele Navarra on 10th September 1963 and it is theorised that he has been on the run longer than any other criminal, an unparalleled 41 years.
Also See
Provenzano at Gangsters Inc. Also has the only known photograph of him
BBC report on the recent arrests relating to the hunt for Provenzano
