Giovanni Motisi

Who is Giovanni Motisi?

Giovanni Motisi also known as "'u pacchiuni", is a member of the Mafia in Sicily from the Altarello neighbourhood in Palermo. He is on the most wanted list of the Italian ministry of the Interior since 1998.

He succeeded his uncle Matteo Motisi as head of the Motisi Mafia clan and boss of the mandamento of Pagliarelli. He is considered to be one of the more powerful bosses of Palermo. He rose in the ranks as one of the killers of Totò Riina and his Corleonesi, but became close to Bernardo Provenzano when the latter took over the position of Riina as head of Cosa Nostra. He is a fugitive since 1993 and is wanted for Mafia association and murder.

He received a life sentence for the murder of the police officer Beppe Montana on 28 July 1985. In March 2001, he escaped an attempt to arrest him. In 2002 he was replaced as the capo mandamento of the Pagliarelli neighbourhood by Antonio Rotolo when the latter left prison, because as a fugitive he did not manage the Mafia family sufficiently.

After the arrest of an older generation Mafia bosses – such as Bernardo Provenzano, Antonio Rotolo and Salvatore Lo Piccolo – in 2006 and 2007, Motisi, Pietro Tagliavia, Gianni Nicchi and Salvo Riina – the second-born son of boss of bosses Totò Riina – were considered to be the upcoming young Mafia bosses. However, the whereabouts of Motisi are unknown. According to some observers Motisi is dead, but the pentito Angelo Casano denies this and maintains that Motisi is hiding in Agrigento, in the south of Sicily.