Luciano Leggio
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Luciano Leggio (some sources spell his surname Liggio) (1925 – November 16, 1993) was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was the head of the Corleonesi, the Mafia Family from the town of Corleone.
Early life
He was raised in extreme poverty and turned to crime in his teens. His first conviction was when he was aged 18 for stealing corn. As soon as Leggio completed a short sentence for this crime he murdered the man who had reported him to the police for the theft. After that, Leggio was recruited by the Corleonesi boss, Michele Navarra, to work as an enforcer and hitman. Leggio eventually took control of a farm by simply killing the previous owner.He was regarded as highly volatile and violent, and was rumoured to have once murdered a rival mafioso and his girlfriend and then raped and strangled the woman's 15-year-old daughter.
Boss of the Corleonesi
Leggio took control of the Corleonesi in 1958 after having Michele Navarra murdered, and over the next five-years he led a group of younger mafiosi (including Salvatore Riina and Bernardo Provenzano) against Navarra's faction. The Mob War resulted in 140 murders and by the end of it, Leggio and his faction emerged victorious, although the increase in violence (coupled with a separate Mob War in Palermo around that time) had inspired a crackdown against the Mafia, meaning Leggio and his associates had to go into hiding.Leggio spent the 1960s and early 1970s increasing the strength of the Corleonesi, murdering anyone who got in its way. In particular, Leggio wanted control of the refining and trafficking of heroin that soon provided a huge source of income to the Sicilian Mafia.
He was captured in 1964 after many years on the run and in 1969 he was tried with many other mobsters on charges relating to the Mafia war earlier that decade. Thanks to witness intimidation Leggio and many of his co-defendants were acquitted. A persistent prosecutor named Cesare Terranova had Leggio recaptured two-years later and tried on nine counts of murder, but again it resulted in acquittal.
Life imprisonment
In 1974, Cesare Terranova had Leggio hauled back into court to be tried for his role in the murder of Michele Navarra 16-years previously. This time a guilty verdict was reached and Leggio was sentenced to life imprisonment.In the Maxi Trial of 1986/1987, Leggio faced charges of helping to run the Corleonesi from behind bars, including the accusation that he ordered the murder of prosecutor Cesare Terranova, who was shot dead in 1979, but he was acquitted of all charges due to lack of evidence.
He spent his time in prison painting. Some described him as very vain and he usually appeared in court wearing sunglasses, expensive tailored suits and grandly puffing on a cigar.
On November 16, 1993, Luciano Leggio died in prison from a heart attack.
External links
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