The Second Mafia War: How a Brutal Power Grab Ended the Sicilian Mafia's Secrecy
Between 1981 and 1983, the Corleonesi faction launched a ruthless campaign to seize control of the Sicilian Mafia. By systematically eliminating rivals and state officials, they triggered a wave of violence that eventually forced the organization into the light, leading to unprecedented government crackdowns and mass informant defections.
The Second Mafia War, or Mattanza, was ignited by the Corleonesi, a rural family from Corleone who were derisively labeled 'the peasants' by urbanized Palermo bosses. While rivals like Stefano Bontade and Salvatore Inzerillo focused on heroin smuggling and political influence, the Corleonesi prioritized military strength. Under the leadership of Luciano Leggio and his representative Salvatore Riina, the group methodically isolated and purged their opposition. By 1981, the slaughter began in earnest, with Bontade and Inzerillo assassinated by motorcycle-riding hitmen. The conflict was characterized by the use of lupara bianca, where victims were disposed of so thoroughly they were never found, leaving the remaining families disoriented and unable to mount a formal defense.
The violence soon extended beyond the criminal underworld. As the Italian government intensified its efforts to intervene, the Corleonesi opened a second front, targeting magistrates, police, and politicians in a series of high-profile assassinations. These victims, known as 'excellent cadavers,' included politician Pio La Torre and magistrate Rocco Chinnici. The brutality of these attacks, particularly the 1982 murder of General Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa, backfired on the mafia. It galvanized the state, leading to the passage of anti-mafia legislation similar to the American RICO Act and the establishment of an anti-mafia pool that would eventually culminate in the 1986 Maxi Trial.
The war fundamentally altered the Sicilian Mafia's structure. By the mid-1980s, Riina and Bernardo Provenzano had achieved hegemony, yet the cost was the destruction of the organization's traditional secrecy. The sheer scale of the killings forced many mafiosi to become pentiti—informants who collaborated with authorities. Figures like Tommaso Buscetta and Salvatore Contorno provided critical intelligence that enabled the state to dismantle the Corleonesi's power. Although the group continued its offensive into the early 1990s, including the bombings that killed Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, the state's crackdown proved relentless. The eventual capture of Riina in 1993 and Provenzano in 2006 marked the end of an era defined by the total annihilation of the losing factions.
Source: Second Mafia War
