- Vincenzo Virga
Vincenzo Virga (Trapani) is the boss of the
Trapani Mafia family andmandamento since 1982, when the previous boss,Salvatore Minore , was murdered.Virga was on of the trusted men of
Bernardo Provenzano and considered to be his financial brain. He was one of the members of the directorate that ruled Cosa Nostra, which was established by Provenzano after the arrest ofTotò Riina . It consisted of about four to seven people who met infrequently, only when necessary, when there were strategic decisions to be made. Among the other members wereSalvatore Lo Piccolo ;Antonino Giuffrè fromCaccamo ;Benedetto Spera from Belmonte Mezzagno;Salvatore Rinella fromTrabia ;Giuseppe Balsano fromMonreale ;Matteo Messina Denaro fromCastelvetrano ; andAndrea Manciaracina fromMazara del Vallo .it icon Oliva & Palazzolo, " [http://www.capitanoultimo.it/d/mafialibro8.htm L’altra mafia] "]Since 1994 Virga was on the run and wanted for the murders of judge
Alberto Giacomelli and the journalistMauro Rostagno .it icon [http://www.repubblica.it/online/cronaca/riina/biografia/biografia.html Virga, boss miliardario con pensione Inps] , La Repubblica, February 21, 2001] [http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/italy/02/21/italy.mafia.bossarres/index.html Police arrest top Mafia boss] , CNN, February 21, 2001] Virga's real skill was in masterminding the intricate financial dealings of the Mafia. His strong political and social support made it hard to arrest him.On
February 21 ,2001 , Virga was arrested in a remote cottage near Trapani while watching a video documentary about the 1992 assassinations of the two Antimafia judgesGiovanni Falcone andPaolo Borsellino and surrounded by documents detailing the award of public works contracts to firms he controlled.it icon [http://www.repubblica.it/online/cronaca/riina/virga/virga.html Preso Vincenzo Virga, luogotenente di Provenzano] , La Repubblica, February 21, 2001] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1184009.stm Sicilian swoop on Mafia boss] , BBC News, February 22, 2001] [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/11/25/wmag25.xml Sicily's magistrates protest over reduced protection] , Daily Telegraph, November 24, 2001]"He is a magician in piloting contracts. We have caught the business brain of Bernardo Provenzano," said police chief Giuseppe Linares when Virga was arrested. Under Virga's direction, the apparently sleepy, non-descript town of Trapani, with more banks than Italian cities five times its size, became a magnet for hundreds of millions of mafia revenue, which was recycled by investing in land developments and waste disposal. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,441127,00.html Mafia arrest brings police closer to boss of bosses] , The Guardian, Thursday February 22, 2001]
On
May 15 ,2007 , the Third Appeal Court in Milan sentenced theForza Italia Senator andSilvio Berlusconi ’s right hand manMarcello Dell'Utri and Virga to two years each for attempted extortion of Trapani Basket Ball team byPublitalia , theFininvest concessionaire. [ [http://www.beppegrillo.it/eng/2007/05/the_night_of_the_republic_1.html Marco Travaglio in Beppe Grillo’s Blog] , May 2007]References
*it icon Oliva, Ernesto & Salvo Palazzolo (2001). " [http://www.capitanoultimo.it/d/mafialibro8.htm L’altra mafia: Biografia di Bernardo Provenzano] ", Soveria Mannelli (CZ): Rubbettino Editore.
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