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.m.and burst in, guns in hand, turning the place over and rousing the children out of bed.The neighbours, who had had no trouble with the family, complained bitterly about the dawn raids.Other relations felt the pressure too: Saveria had no female friends but visited her sister in Cinisi now and again.The police raided her sister’s house as well – turning out kitchen drawers and emptying cupboards on the floor, terrifying the children and wrecking the place.At nine and sixteen years of age the Provenzano boys were traumatized to find themselves catapulted into the public eye.On their first day at high school in Bisacquino, a short bus ride south of Corleone, reporters staked out the playground to take the first pictures of the Boss’s sons.Some of the journalists sent in hastily handwritten notes via Angelo’s classmates, asking for a couple of words on how he felt about his new school.At lunchtime, when all the children went home, Angelo walked out of the gate into a baying mob of reporters and quickly took refuge back inside the school.Photographers glimpsed a fair-haired, broad-shouldered lad, bewildered and frightened.Over an hour later the press pack showed no signs of losing interest.Angelo finally walked out with a friend, wearing dark glasses and holding an exercise book up to his face.Besieged by pleas for a photo and a few words, trapped in the schoolyard, finally he faced the photographers and challenged them tearfully to go ahead and take his picture.‘Some gentlemen you are.So you’ve got me.Bravi.’They snapped away for a few minutes, then he walked out of the gate and fled for home.After he had gone, the photographers’ triumphant scoop was overshadowed by shame that they could treat a child that way.After some discussion, pity for the boy outweighed the value of the photos, and they all agreed it would be wrong to publish them.The pictures – which show a tall, blond, open-faced boy in a red polo shirt battling to compose his emotions – have never appeared in any newspaper.(Such journalistic scruples did not last, however.When Paolo later graduated, in 2005, the ceremony was invaded by journalists, who outnumbered guests of the students.)It quickly became apparent that Provenzano’s boys were not violent thugs; they had no apparent need to prove their criminal pedigree.The shocking truth of it was that Francesco Paolo and his older brother, Angelo, were good students, quiet and conscientious.Teachers observed they kept themselves to themselves.Angelo eventually got a surveyor’s diploma at the Di Vincenti Institute, near Bisacquino, and signed up for an engineering degree at Palermo University – near enough to commute from home.It was his father’s wish that he should get a degree (Provenzano had left school at seven and fervently wished better for his son), but Angelo didn’t finish the course.He was needed at home to look after his mother and manage the family’s affairs.He abandoned his ambitions to be a surveyor, although his father tried to convince him that continuing his studies would be the best course, and it became a source of conflict between them.Binnu had discussed with his old friend Lipari the merits of study versus work: Lipari, a white-collar financial manager for the Mafia, was convinced that Angelo would need a decent degree, since it was going to be pretty difficult for him to set up in business.He wrote to Provenzano:I don’t need to tell you this, but it would be useful if the boy put a bit of effort into finishing his studies, even if it involves some sacrifice.Having a degree will be more use to him than inheriting a fortune, and he’ll be able to take a different approach to life.You know any commercial or business enterprise will always be subject to extreme scrutiny, and he’ll need serious capital.There are tax concessions for new businesses, and you can get financing from the state.In the main, the laws are set up for people who need this kind of help, and in my opinion your son is not in quite the same position, so it would be better for him to concentrate on his studies – that will give him a much better chance of making something of himself, using his intelligence and his talents.17The son of a Mafia boss enjoys tremendous privileges: through his father’s contacts he can exploit connections in academia, business or politics.Being forced to make his way in the straight world presents far greater challenges.Provenzano, like many a good bourgeois Sicilian son of a peasant farmer, tried to get his sons work in an insurance company and urged his friend Nino Giuffré, also the father of two boys, to do the same.Giuffré recalls: ‘He said we owed it to our sons to give them a legitimate future.’Unfortunately the firm in question began to attract investigators’ interest and media inquiries, and eventually, with all the negative publicity, went into receivership.Angelo got a job in insurance, but when his bosses realized they risked getting bad PR just for employing the son of the fugitive boss, they did not renew his contract.Saveria and the boys moved to a villa on the edge of Corleone, just round the corner from Binnu’s favourite nephew, Carmelo Gariffo (unfortunately, he was in prison for much of this time and thus unavailable to keep her company).It was a big place for three, built with money allegedly sent by Provenzano’s brother Simone out of his German wages.Discreetly positioned, the villa overlooked the fields below the town.A high fence in front obscured the curious gaze of passing journalists or of visitors to the local restaurant, the Leon d’Oro.The villa was large but not particularly showy; a long feature window, sandblasted glass with heavy black frames, gave it a modern ecclesiastical look.The shutters were kept closed.In 1994 Angelo opened a launderette, the Splendor, in the same street.It was a good choice of business: nice clean work offering minimal and civil contact with the local community [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]