Who are Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone?

Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone were popular Italian judges who were known for be strongly against the Sicilian and other mafias in Italy in the 1990s. They grew up in the same neighborhood of Palermo an fought against the mafias for years.

Falcone had a very reputable career against the mafia. He presided over the Maxi Trial which was recorded as one of the longest trials in the history of crime in Italy. It lasted from February 1986 to January 1992. It was biased on Italian mafias turned informants. The prosecutors indicted almost 500 mafiosi for several offenses related to mafia activities. A total of 338 mafia members were found guilty and received sentences over 2,600 years, excluding life terms given to 9 bosses.

Falcone was killed in a heavy bombing along with his wife Francesca Morvillo and three other policemen on their way from the airport after a weekend in Rome.

Less than two months after his death, Borsellino was also killed in a car bombing close to his mother’s house in Palermo on 19 July 1992. He died along with five other police officers, including Emmanuela Lori, who was recorded as the first Italian policewoman to die in line of duty. A popular notepad called ‘Agenda Rosa’ which reportedly had all his investigations against the mafia disappeared at the sight of the bombing not too long after it occurred.

Sicilian mafia, Salvatore Riina reportedly threw parties after the death of Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone.