Giovanni Brusca, the mafia hitman who detonated the bomb that killed anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone in 1992, is now officially a free man.
Brusca, once known as u scannacristiani, the man who “slaughters people”, completed four years of probation at the end of May. It was the final condition of his sentence following 25 years in prison. He will now remain under protection, living under a false identity and far from Sicily.
His release has reignited public anger. Brusca was a high-ranking member of Cosa Nostra and a loyal killer for the Corleone clan. He is best known for pressing the remote control that triggered 500kg of explosives beneath the motorway near Capaci on 23 May 1992. The blast killed Falcone, his wife Francesca Morvillo, and three police officers: Vito Schifani, Rocco Dicillo, and Antonio Montinaro.
But the Capaci massacre was only part of Brusca’s criminal record. He confessed to his role in over 100 murders after becoming a state witness in 1996. Among the most gruesome was the 1996 murder of 11-year-old Giuseppe Di Matteo, the son of a mafia informant. The boy was held hostage for over two years, strangled, and then dissolved in acid.
Brusca’s cooperation with justice led to hundreds of convictions and helped weaken the grip of the Sicilian mafia. Yet many Italians still question whether the benefits of his collaboration outweigh the horror of his crimes.
“Brusca served his sentence, but this remains a bitter moment for the families of the victims,” said a spokesperson for an anti-mafia association.
Despite his apparent rehabilitation, authorities have confirmed Giovanni Brusca will continue to live under surveillance and protection, in a location undisclosed to the public.
