The day the Mafia killed Giovanni Falcone – level 2

23-05-1992

The Mafia was in Sicily, Italy, from 1838. After World War II, the Mafia was very strong.

Giovanni Falcone was from Sicily, too. He studied law and became a judge. He wanted to change the situation in Sicily. In 1978, he started to work in Palermo. It was the time when the Sicilian Mafia brutally removed everybody who stood in its way.

Falcone worked very hard and gathered evidence against the Mafia. In 1986, Falcone sent many Mafia members to prison, but the biggest boss was still free.

Falcone continued his work against the Mafia. The Mafia tried to kill him twice, but he always survived.

On May 23, 1992, Falcone and his wife arrived at Palermo Airport. The Mafia put a 500-kilogram bomb into the pipes under the road. When Falcone drove over the road, there was a huge explosion. The explosion opened the road and hit the car in which Falcone was sitting. Falcone, his wife, and 3 policemen died.

Falcone’s death made people very angry. They protested in the streets and wanted to stop the Mafia’s killings. As a result, the police arrested many Mafia members, including the biggest boss.

Difficult words: remove (to make somebody disappear from a place), gather (to collect), pipe (a tube), killing (a murder).

What changes, if any, has the Sicilian Mafia seen since the death of Giovanni Falcone?

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