Mafia 'Boss of Bosses' Nabbed in Sicily

CORLEONE, Italy, April 14, 2006 — -- Deep in the hills outside Palermo, Italy, is a medieval farm town with a history written in blood.

The town's name -- Corleone -- literally means "Lionheart." But to most of the world, Corleone means just one thing -- La Costa Nostra. The mafia. And more than that, the mafia myth as portrayed in "The Godfather" movie trilogy.

In Corleone, the real-life Godfather's face was revealed this week for the first time in 43 years.

Bernardo Provenzano, the most powerful boss in the history of the Italian mafia, was arrested at a farmhouse near Corleone on Wednesday. As Italian authorities escorted Provenzano to jail, young people jeered.

"Assassin," they shouted. "Murderer!"

Provenzano has already been sentenced in absentia to life in prison for the 1992 murder of two anti-mafia judges.

In Sicily, this is a real-life blockbuster.

"Bernardo Provenzano is the boss of bosses of Sicilian organized crime. He is probably, in the history of Sicilian organized crime, the most powerful mafia boss that has ever operated in Italy," said Chris Swecker, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division.

In the early days, he was nicknamed "Bernie the Tractor" for his propensity to "mow people down. As a top hit man for the legendary gangster Lucky Luciano, Provenzano quickly rose through the ranks.

Luciano once said of him: "He shoots like an angel. Too bad he has the brains of a chicken."

But Luciano seriously underestimated him. Provenzano had been on the run since 1963, and the only picture ever taken of him had to be digitally aged for the "Wanted" posters.

"I hear people saying, 'why haven't we caught bin Laden?' It's been three years! Here's a guy on an island, a tiny island, in 43 years they couldn't catch him!" said former mobster Sonny Girard.

It's possible he had plenty of help from the people of Corleone. The residents who spoke to ABC News said they knew nothing about the so-called "boss of bosses."

"I knew him when we were kids," was all one of them would say. "He was a normal guy."In Corleone the mafia code of silence -- omerta -- still means something.