Libero Grassi
Libero Grassi (born July 19, 1924 in Catania , † August 29, 1991 in Palermo ) was an Italian clothing entrepreneur and mafia opponent who was murdered by the Cosa Nostra .
Life
Grassi, who owned a fashion company in the home textiles sector with around 100 employees, openly opposed the mafia and, in the media, refused to pay protection money (pizzo). He worked with the police and mafia hunters and publicly called for solidarity. Libero Grassi informed the authorities and the media exactly about the procedure of the protection money extortionists. Eight Mafiosi were arrested and sentenced on the basis of his testimony. Because he was the first Sicilian entrepreneur to openly oppose the Mafia, and because of the wide coverage, Libero Grassi is honored by many Italians for his courage and sincerity to this day.
At the beginning of 1991, Grassi's business was broken into and exactly the amount of money stolen from him as protection money. An unsuccessful arson attack on his business soon followed.
On August 29, 1991, less than a year after his refusal to pay protection money, and just under three weeks after his open letter to the "Dear Blackmailers" was published on the front page of a daily newspaper , the 67-year-old Grassi in the Via Vittorio Alfieri in Palermo at 7.30 a.m. by the Mafia boss Francesco Madonia and his son Salvino Madonia murdered by three bullets in the head while walking from his house to his car.
Grassi was married to Pina Grassi and had a son Davide and a daughter Alice .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gil Fagiani: Standing up to the Mob in Sicily: The Case of Capo d'Orlando
- ↑ Bestofsicily.com report
- ↑ BBC article on the Open Letter
- ^ Morto Madonia, boss di Resuttana - La Repubblica, Italian
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Grassi, Libero |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian entrepreneur, victim of the Mafia |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 19, 1924 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Catania |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 29, 1991 |
| Place of death | Palermo |