On January 10, 1991, entrepreneur Libero Grassi publicly denounced the mafia through a letter to the Giornale di Sicilia. He refused to pay protection money and sought police protection. A few months later, Grassi was killed by a hitman. Grassi’s defiance was rare in Sicily, where few business owners dared to speak out against the mafia. Grassi’s life and death became a symbol of resistance against organized crime. He was a civic and business martyr in the fight against the mafia. Grassi’s refusal to pay extortion money and his collaboration with authorities to identify the Avitabile brothers, fearsome enforcers of the Madonia family, played a significant role in exposing the mafia’s criminal activities. Grassi’s death led to the creation of a fund to support victims of extortion, and it inspired other courageous entrepreneurs to denounce the mafia and refuse to pay protection money.
A Palermo il ricordo di Libero Grassi, l’imprenditore – martire che sfidò la mafia
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