Salvatore Miceli
Encyclopedia
Salvatore Miceli is a member of the Sicilian
Mafia
. He was on the "Most wanted list" of the Italian Ministry of the Interior from 2001 until his arrest in Venezuela in June 2009.
, Italy
, in the province of Trapani
. He was the grandson of the notorious heroin trafficker Salvatore Zizzo. Together with Roberto Pannunzi, he is considered to be the intermediary between the Mafia and the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta clans with Colombian cocaine cartels. He was involved in a cocaine trafficking network with Mariano Agate
, the Mafia boss of Mazara del Vallo
and Calabrian clans of Marando, Trimboli and Barbaro
from Platì
.
The ring was dismantled in May 2003 – but Miceli remained at large. His wife Veronica Dudzinski and his sons Ivano and Mario Miceli were arrested in May 2003, when the cocaine trafficking network was disrupted.
Some Mafia turncoats (pentiti
) referred to Miceli as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, due to his frequent trips abroad. Others called him "the chicken that lays golden eggs", referring to his lucrative drug business.
In the beginning of the 1990s, after a failed cocaine transport, Mafia boss Giovanni Brusca
condemned Miceli to death. However, he was saved thanks to the intervention of Vincenzo Sinacori and Matteo Messina Denaro
– the boss of Castelvetrano
– who made clear that Miceli belonged to the Mafia in the province of Trapani
, and that the "palermitani" could not act against him without the permission of the Mafia bosses of Trapani.
, Venezuela
. The arrest was made after a joint operation between Italian and Venezuelan authorities and Interpol
agents. He was apprehended as he left his house on Sunday, along with two other unnamed Italian suspects. Miceli, who had been on the run from authorities since 2001, had been under police surveillance for three days prior to his arrest. The former head of Italy's Antimafia parliamentary commission
, Giuseppe Lumia
, suggested that Miceli's arrest would be a major blow to the Sicilian Mafia and their trans-Atlantic drug trafficking operations.
Venezuela extradited Miceli to Italy on June 30, 2009, to serve his prison term. He was convicted for drug trafficking and Mafia conspiracy in 2001. Since then he again has been charged for cocaine trafficking between Colombia, Sicily and Calabria.
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
. He was on the "Most wanted list" of the Italian Ministry of the Interior from 2001 until his arrest in Venezuela in June 2009.
Biography
Miceli was born in SalemiSalemi
Salemi is a town and comune in South-Western Sicily, Italy, administratively part of the province of Trapani. It is located in the Belice Valley.-History:...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, in the province of Trapani
Province of Trapani
Trapani is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital is the city of Trapani.It has an area of 2,460 km², and a total population of 425,121...
. He was the grandson of the notorious heroin trafficker Salvatore Zizzo. Together with Roberto Pannunzi, he is considered to be the intermediary between the Mafia and the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta clans with Colombian cocaine cartels. He was involved in a cocaine trafficking network with Mariano Agate
Mariano Agate
Mariano Agate is a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He is the boss of Mazara del Vallo Mafia family since the 1970s when he replaced the old boss Mariano Licari. He also was the boss of the mandamento of Mazara, including the Mafia families of Marsala, Salemi and Vita...
, the Mafia boss of Mazara del Vallo
Mazara del Vallo
Mazara del Vallo is a town and comune in southwestern Sicily, Italy, which lies mainly on the left bank at the mouth of the Mazaro river, administratively part of the province of Trapani....
and Calabrian clans of Marando, Trimboli and Barbaro
Barbaro 'ndrina
The Barbaro 'ndrina is a clan of the 'Ndrangheta, a criminal and mafia-type organisation in Calabria, Italy. The 'ndrina is currently based in Platì...
from Platì
Platì
Platì is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, in Calabria, southern Italy. It rises 300 metres above the sea level on the slope of the Aspromonte mountains and is located next to the Aspromonte National Park...
.
The ring was dismantled in May 2003 – but Miceli remained at large. His wife Veronica Dudzinski and his sons Ivano and Mario Miceli were arrested in May 2003, when the cocaine trafficking network was disrupted.
Some Mafia turncoats (pentiti
Pentito
Pentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations...
) referred to Miceli as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, due to his frequent trips abroad. Others called him "the chicken that lays golden eggs", referring to his lucrative drug business.
In the beginning of the 1990s, after a failed cocaine transport, Mafia boss Giovanni Brusca
Giovanni Brusca
Giovanni Brusca is a former member of the Sicilian Mafia. He murdered the anti-Mafia prosecutor Giovanni Falcone in 1992 and once stated that he had committed between 100 and 200 murders but was unable to remember the exact number...
condemned Miceli to death. However, he was saved thanks to the intervention of Vincenzo Sinacori and Matteo Messina Denaro
Matteo Messina Denaro
Matteo Messina Denaro , also known as Diabolik, is a Sicilian mafioso. He got his nickname from the Italian comic book character of the same name. He is considered to be one of the new leaders of Cosa Nostra after the arrest of Bernardo Provenzano on April 11, 2006...
– the boss of Castelvetrano
Castelvetrano
Castelvetrano is a town and comune in the province of Trapani, Sicily, Italy. The archeological site of Selinunte is located within the territory of the comune. It was the birthplace of Giovanni Gentile, the key philosopher of the Fascist movement in Italy.The town is predominantly a farming town,...
– who made clear that Miceli belonged to the Mafia in the province of Trapani
Province of Trapani
Trapani is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital is the city of Trapani.It has an area of 2,460 km², and a total population of 425,121...
, and that the "palermitani" could not act against him without the permission of the Mafia bosses of Trapani.
Arrest
On June 20, 2009, Salvatore Miceli was arrested by police in CaracasCaracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. The arrest was made after a joint operation between Italian and Venezuelan authorities and Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
agents. He was apprehended as he left his house on Sunday, along with two other unnamed Italian suspects. Miceli, who had been on the run from authorities since 2001, had been under police surveillance for three days prior to his arrest. The former head of Italy's Antimafia parliamentary commission
Antimafia Commission
The Italian Antimafia Commission is a bicameral commission of the Italian Parliament, composed of members from the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate . The Antimafia Commission is a commission of inquiry into, initially, the “phenomenon of the Mafia”...
, Giuseppe Lumia
Giuseppe Lumia
Giuseppe Lumia is an Italian politician of the Democratic Party of the Left and its successor, the Democrats of the Left . He belongs to the group of Social Christians in the Party.Lumia was born in Termini Imerese, in Sicily...
, suggested that Miceli's arrest would be a major blow to the Sicilian Mafia and their trans-Atlantic drug trafficking operations.
Venezuela extradited Miceli to Italy on June 30, 2009, to serve his prison term. He was convicted for drug trafficking and Mafia conspiracy in 2001. Since then he again has been charged for cocaine trafficking between Colombia, Sicily and Calabria.