According to his warders, he is behaving like a model Mafioso. Bernardo Provenzano, 73, captured head of the Mafia and nicknamed "the Bulldozer," has been scrupulously polite to prison officers.
When his request for the Bible he had been using in his spartan hideout in Sicily's Corleone was turned down, he accepted the decision without rancor.
Held in isolation in jail, he continues to demonstrate his fanaticism for healthy eating and drinks only a cup of milky coffee in the morning, followed by pasta or rice with tomatoes for lunch and a second course of meat or boiled vegetables. He has vegetable soup in the evening.
But behind the good manners remains the man of steel who ran one of the most vicious criminal networks in the world. He has refused to say more than a few words to any investigator.
His behavior is in sharp contrast to the bearing of one of the two men tipped to take over from Provenzano -- 46-year-old Matteo Messina "Diabolik" Denaro, known as the "playboy boss."
He has been a fugitive for 13 years and in his last photo looked like a trim, fashionably coiffed manager on the make.
He enjoys an almost mythical status among younger Mafiosi and sealed his brutal reputation by murdering a rival Trapani boss and strangling his pregnant girlfriend.
His rival is fellow Provenzano lieutenant Salvatore "White Fox" Lo Piccolo, 63, an old-style boss from Palermo.
Both men -- and much of Italy -- will be watching when Provenzano makes his first appearance by video link in court to see whether he abides by the organization's code of silence -- or omerta.
According to his lawyer, he could be present at the hearings next month of 11 of his men charged with helping to protect him while he was on the run.
If Provenzano does attend, it could also make sure none of them is tempted to cooperate with the authorities.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese