Rocco Chinnici
Rocco Chinnici | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 19 January 1925 |
| Died | 29 July 1983(aged 58) |
| Cause of death | Car bombby theSicilian Mafia |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Occupation | Magistrate |
| Known for | Investigations into the Sicilian Mafia |
Rocco Chinnici(Italian pronunciation:[ˈrɔkkokinˈniːtʃi],Sicilian:[kɪnˈniːʃɪ];19 January 1925 – 29 July 1983) was an Italian anti-Mafia magistrate killed by theSicilian Mafia.
Life[edit]
Born atMisilmeri,Chinnici graduated in law at theUniversity of Palermoin 1947 and started working as a magistrate in 1952 inTrapani.In 1966 he moved to the prosecutors office in Palermo. In November 1979, he became head of the Examining Office at the Palermo Court, following the murder of his predecessor,Cesare Terranova,bythe Mafia.[1]At the time the prosecution was separated in an examining phase (the so-called instruction phase) and a prosecuting phase.
Chinnici created theAntimafia Pool,a group of investigating magistrates who closely worked together sharing information to diffuse responsibility and to prevent one person from becoming the sole institutional memory and solitary target. The famous Antimafia magistratesGiovanni FalconeandPaolo Borsellinowere part of theAntimafiaPool as well asGiuseppe Di LelloandLeonardo Guarnotta.[2]The Antimafia pool laid the groundwork for theMaxi Trialagainst the Sicilian Mafia in 1986.
He was instrumental in reviving investigations into the Mafia and understood the need to bridge the gap between the judiciary and the rest of Sicilian society to create a counterculture against the Mafia and break downomertà,the law of silence that kept the Mafia alive. He frequently spoke out against the Mafia in public appearances and schools at a time when judges had avoided the word for many years.[1]
Death[edit]
On 29 July 1983, acar bombexplosion in Palermo killed Chinnici, two of hisbodyguards,Mario Trapassi and Salvatore Bartolotta, and the concierge of hisapartmentblock, Stefano Li Sacchi, as he left the house to go to work.[1]The bomb was triggered by the notorious MafiaassassinPino Greco,on the orders of his uncleMichele Greco.In 2002,Bernardo Provenzano,Salvatore Riina,Raffaele Ganci,Antonino Madonia,Salvatore Buscemi,Nenè Geraci,Giuseppe Calò,Francesco Madonia,Salvatore and Giuseppe Montalto,Stefano GanciandVincenzo Galatolowere sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for ordering the murder of Chinnici.[3][4]He was succeeded as Chief Prosecutor byAntonino Caponnetto.
Biography[edit]
- Zingales, Leone (2006).Rocco Chinnici, l'inventore del pool antimafia(in Italian). Edizioni Limina.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^abcStille,Excellent Cadavers,p. 81.
- ^Giovanni Falcone, Paolo Borsellino and the Procura of PalermoArchived2012-10-21 at theWayback Machine,Peter Schneider & Jane Schneider, May 2002, essay is based on excerpts from Chapter Six of Jane Schneider and Peter Schneider,Reversible Destiny: Mafia, Antimafia, and the Struggle for Palermo,Berkeley: University of California Press
- ^"Strage Chinnici, 12 ergastoli assolti i boss Motisi e Farinella"(in Italian). la Repubblica. 26 June 2002. Archived fromthe originalon 5 October 2013.
- ^Italy: Mafia 'Pope' dies in Rome clinic,Adnkronos International,February 13, 2008.
- Schneider, Jane T. & Peter T. Schneider (2003).Reversible Destiny: Mafia, Antimafia, and the Struggle for Palermo,Berkeley: University of California PressISBN0-520-23609-2
- Stille, Alexander(1995).Excellent Cadavers: The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic,New York: VintageISBN0-09-959491-9
External links[edit]
- (in Italian)Fondazione Rocco Chinnici
- (in Italian)La rivolta dei giudici Siciliani: Intervista al Giudice Rocco Chinnici,I Siciliani, March 1983
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