Capaci massacre
Ariel view of the bombing site on Highway A29
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| Location | Capaci, Sicily |
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| Coordinates | 38°10′58″N 13°14′41″E / 38.18278°N 13.24472°E |
| Date | May 23, 1992 7:58 PM |
| Target | Giovanni Falcone |
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Attack type
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Assassination |
| Weapons | Improvised explosives |
| Deaths | 5 |
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Suspected perpetrators
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Sicilian Mafia |
The Capaci bombing (Italian: Strage di Capaci) was an attack by the Sicilian Mafia which took place on May 23, 1992 on Highway A29, close to the junction of Capaci, Sicily. It killed magistrate Giovanni Falcone, his wife Francesca Morvillo, and three police escort agents, Vito Schifani, Rocco Dicillo and Antonio Montinaro; agents Paolo Capuzza, Angelo Corbo, Gaspare Bravo and Judge Joseph Giuseppe Costanza survived.
Salvatore Cancemi, who later turned pentito, described the Mafia's victory celebration that followed the Capaci bombing; Totò Riina ordered French champagne while they toasted.
Falcone's killing was decided at meetings of the Sicilian Mafia Commission between September and December 1991, and orchestrated by boss Salvatore Riina, in which other targets were also identified. Following the judgment of the Supreme Court of Cassation confirming the claims of the Maxi Trial (30 January 1992), the Sicilian Mafia decided to start the attacks on political figures.
Between April and May 1992, Salvatore Biondino, Raffaele Ganci and Salvatore Cancemi conducted inspections at Highway A29 in the Capaci area to find a suitable place for the attack to be carried out. During the same period, there were organizational meetings near Altofonte consisting of Giovanni Brusca, Antonino Gioè, Gioacchino La Barbera, Pietro Rampulla, Santino Di Matteo, and Leoluca Bagarella, where some 200 kilograms of quarry explosives were procured by Giuseppe Agrigento (mobster of San Cipirello). The bins were then taken to the house of Antonino Troia (under the Capaci family), where another meeting took place also including Raffaele Ganci, Salvatore Cancemi, Giovan Battista Ferrante, Giovanni Battaglia, Salvatore Biondino and Salvatore Biondo. During which the transfer of the other part of the explosive (tritium and RDX) was carried out by Biondino and Giuseppe Graviano (head of the Brancaccio Family).
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Wikipedia