When Bernardo Provenzano took over the organisation in the mid-90s, he inherited a depleted and demoralised workforce, who had scuppered their own access to politics and industry. The bombs that killed anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino had created a PR disaster and a law enforcement backlash. Hundreds of mafiosi were in prison, and many of them were so disillusioned with the organisation that they were telling the authorities everything they knew.
Magistrates and mafiosi agree: Provenzano was the charismatic force who revived the fortunes of Cosa Nostra. It has been said of Provenzano, as of so many mafia entrepreneurs, that had he turned his talents and resources to legitimate business, he would have been extremely successful. Fortunately, the mafia's particular modus operandi - the use or threat of violence to create monopolies and price-fixing cartels - is not part of general business practice. But his "System" turned around a failing organisation with far-sighted tactics worthy of any business impresario.
That's Clare Longrigg in the Guardian summarizing Provenzano's "seven rules" for running an effective organization. Readers are left to invent their own snide comments about "general business pracice." For perspective, there is a well-documented Wiki (link, with lots of detail about his bloody past as a hitman. Wiki quotes, without specific attribution, the "famous remark" of the boss of the then-young Provenzano: "He shoots like a god, shame he has the brains of a chicken..." Oh and did I mention that he is in the slammer, having been arrested in 2006 after 33 years as a fugitive? That's a record that puts Kathy Boudin to shame.
No comments:
Post a Comment