Bernardo Provenzano - Early Years

Early Years

He was born and raised in Corleone, the third of seven brothers, born to peasants. Provenzano left school at ten without finishing primary education, and worked in the fields. He joined the Mafia in his late teens. At the time, Michele Navarra was the head of the Mafia Family of Corleone, but Provenzano became close to Luciano Leggio, a young and ambitious mobster. Navarra and Leggio went to war against each other in the mid-1950s.

In August 1958, Provenzano was one of the 14 gunmen who backed Leggio in the ambush and murder of Michele Navarra. Leggio subsequently became the head of the Family. Over the next five years, Provenzano helped Leggio hunt down and kill many of Navarra's surviving supporters. In May 1963, Provenzano went on the run after a failed hit on one of Navarra’s men – at this point he was not running from the police, but from Mafia vendetta. Leggio said of Provenzano: "He shoots like a god, shame he has the brains of a chicken..." On September 10, 1963 an arrest warrant was issued against Provenzano for the murder of one of Navarra's men. Provenzano now also had to run from the police along with most of the rest of the Corleonesi. Leggio went to prison for murder in 1974, effectively leaving Totò Riina in charge. Provenzano became the second in command of the Corleonesi, Riina's right-hand-man.

Provenzano participated in the Viale Lazio massacre on December 10, 1969: the killing of Michele Cavataio for his role in the First Mafia War. The attack nearly went wrong and Cavataio was able to shoot and kill Calogero Bagarella (an elder brother of Leoluca Bagarella the brother-in-law of Totò Riina). According to legend, Provenzano saved the situation with his Beretta 38/A submachine gun and earned himself a reputation as a Mafia killer with the attack. However, according to Gaetano Grado, one of the participants who turned government witness later, it was Provenzano who messed up the attack, shooting too early.

During Riina's time as godfather, Provenzano was believed to operate behind the scenes, dealing with the financial side of the criminal enterprises that he and Riina orchestrated, particularly heroin trafficking. It is not known to what extent that he participated in the Second Mafia War of 1981/82, initiated by Riina, which left over a thousand Mafiosi dead and resulted in the Corleonesi becoming the dominant Mafia faction in Sicily.

Throughout much of the 1980s and 1990s, Provenzano created a private fiefdom in Bagheria, a suburb of Palermo. In his stronghold, mafiosi met and handed out construction contracts, buying silence and loyalty. One long-time collaborator of Provenzano’s described the boss’ residence in the 18th century villa Valguarnera: "a beautiful place, classical style, where Provenzano lived in hiding, peacefully with his family... He used to get taken to meetings in an ambulance."