Just before the 45th anniversary of the assassination of the brother of the current Italian president Sergio Mattarella – Piersanti Mattarella – there was a breakthrough in the decades-long investigation. According to Italian media, the prosecutor's office has identified the perpetrators of the attack, which was ordered by the Sicilian mafia.
On January 6, 1980, the then governor of Sicily, Piersanti Mattarella, was shot dead in the center of Palermo while he was driving to church with his family. The killer opened fire on him from a passing car. He fired six shots. His principals were convicted in connection with this attack.
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In recent days, according to “La Repubblica” and “La Stampa”, the prosecutor's office has investigated two men who – according to the latest findings – were the direct perpetrators of the attack. Both are serving life sentences for dozens of other mafia crimes.
Piersanti MattarellaArchivio Apg/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
One of the perpetrators was the son of a powerful mafia boss
As the newspapers reported, citing investigators, Antonino Madonia – the son of the powerful, late Palermo boss Francesco Madonia, who was convicted of ordering this crime – shot at the head of the Sicilian government, a then Christian Democrat politician.
The car from which the killer shot was driven by Giuseppe Lucchese, also the perpetrator of many mafia attacks.
As the press explains, a breakthrough in the investigation was also possible thanks to a photo received by the prosecutor's office, which appealed to newspapers and agencies to provide all photos from the crime scene.
Main photo source: Archivio Apg/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images