Sicily's Invisible Man

REUTERS

CAMERA SHY: Two mugshots of Provenzano taken in 1959 are the most recent photographs of the Mafia boss that can be reliably dated

The fog hung low on a brisk January dawn in 2001, as several dozen police agents silently rolled into position in the rugged hills around Mezzojuso, a sleepy town 40 km south of Palermo. For months, investigators had been casing a red-roofed concrete house where they believed top Mafia bosses were planning an important lunchtime summit. Benedetto Spera, among the most feared and powerful figures in Cosa Nostra, was also scheduled to get a doctor's visit at the hillside farmhouse that day to treat his prostate cancer. The summit was considered so important that authorities suspected Bernardo Provenzano, the Sicilian Mafia's...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!