Maxiprocesso: The Maxi Trial

The Maxi Trial, also known as “Maxiprocesso”, was a trial that was held in Palermo, Sicily in the nineteen eighties. It was a criminal trial that tried hundreds of convicted Mafiosi members. It started in February of 1986, and ended in December of 1987. (fermimn) It started when a testimony from a former boss was given. This led to other testimonies being told from other Mafia members against other bosses. The Maxi trial was the biggest Mafia trial as of today, as there had never been so many Mafiosi tried at one time. “The importance of the trial was that the existence of Cosa Nostra was finally judicially confirmed.” (translation.babylon)This trial was a huge deal because the Mafia had been, and still is today, very downplayed by authority.

(lacndb) Falcone was one of the main organizers of the Maxi Trial, and it was Falcone that Tommaso Buscetta preferred to speak with when he testified. (alexanderstille.net) Him and his close colleague Paolo Borsellino developed a new method of investigation for the mafia. It was based on following the money trail, and they assembled the case in the Maxi Trial- the most important mafia trial of all time. This was important because, even though it may sound crazy, up until the Maxi Trial, the Italian state did not recognize the existence of mafia. (fbi.gov) Paolo Borsellino was also an anti-mafia magistrate, and is considered to be one of the most important people killed by the Sicilian Mafia. (salon.com) And within two weeks of the Maxi trial verdicts being announced, Falcone and Borsellino were bombed in 1992.(salon.com) Neither of them had intentions of being so highly involved in going against the Sicilian Mafia but once many of their colleagues were killed they couldn’t refuse. They are both considered to be heroes of the Maxi Trial. (historysheroes) The deaths of Falcone and Borsellino were a way for Cosa Nostra to show their power over them. They are able to kill whomever they want. Falcone and Borsellino had a big impact on the Maxi Trial, and he was an important figure in the world of Mafia because all men fighting the Mafia now use his method for

It was by far the most successful mafia trial, keeping many Mafiosi men in prison for the rest of their lives. Cosa Nostra, and other Mafia families are still controlling a majority of the Italian state today, but this trial definitely helped to lock away some of its major members and bosses. Defendants such as Buscetta, Greco, Leggio and Riina are some of the worst defendants and they are either locked up or have died. It is scary to think that people like them exist in the world, but it’s people like Falcone, Borsellino and Chinnici that keep them under control. The Maxi Trial goes down in history as one of the biggest historical events in Italy, and will never be