Editing Mafia (section)

===Sack of Palermo===
The post-war period saw a huge building boom in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palermo Palermo]. Allied bombing in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II World War II] had left more than 14,000 people homeless, and migrants were pouring in from the countryside,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-DickieCosaNostra278_59-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-DickieCosaNostra278-59 [59]]</sup> so there was a huge demand for new homes. Much of this construction was subsidized by public money. In 1956, two Mafia-connected officials, [[Vito Ciancimino]] and [[Salvatore Lima]], took control of Palermo's Office of Public Works. Between 1959 and 1963, about 80% of building permits were given to just five people, none of whom represented major construction firms and were probably Mafia frontmen.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-DickieCosaNostra281_60-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-DickieCosaNostra281-60 [60]]</sup> Construction companies unconnected with the Mafia were forced to pay [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_money protection money]. Many buildings were illegally constructed before the city's planning was finalized. Mafiosi scared off anyone who dared to question the illegal building. The result of this unregulated building was the demolition of many beautiful historic buildings and the erection of apartment blocks, many of which were not up to standard.
Mafia organizations entirely control the building sector in Palermo – the quarries where aggregates are mined, site clearance firms, cement plants, metal depots for the construction industry, wholesalers for sanitary fixtures, and so on.—[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Falcone Giovanni Falcone], 1982<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-paoli167_61-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-paoli167-61 [61]]</sup>

The First Mafia War was the first high-profile conflict between Mafia clans in post-war Italy (the Sicilian Mafia has a long history of violent rivalries).

In 1962, the mafia boss [[Cesare Manzella]] organized a drug shipment to America with the help of two Sicilian clans, the Grecos and the La Barberas. Manzella entrusted another boss, [[Calcedonio Di Pisa]], to handle the heroin. When the shipment arrived in America, however, the American buyers claimed some heroin was missing, and paid Di Pisa a commensurately lower sum. Di Pisa accused the Americans of defrauding him, while the La Barberas accused Di Pisa of embezzling the missing heroin. The Sicilian Mafia Commission sided with Di Pisa, to the open anger of the La Barberas. The La Barberas murdered Di Pisa and Manzella, triggering a war.

Many non-mafiosi were killed in the crossfire. In April 1963, several bystanders were wounded during a shootout in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palermo Palermo].<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-DickieCosaNostra312_63-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-DickieCosaNostra312-63 [63]]</sup> In May, [[Angelo La Barbera]] survived a murder attempt in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan Milan]. In June, six military officers and a policeman in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciaculli Ciaculli] were killed while trying to dispose of a car bomb. These incidents provoked national outrage and a crackdown in which nearly 2,000 arrests were made. Mafia activity fell as clans disbanded and mafiosi went into hiding. The Sicilian Mafia Commission was dissolved; it would not reform until 1969.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-DickieCosaNostra318_64-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-DickieCosaNostra318-64 [64]]</sup> 117 suspects were put on trial in 1968, but most were acquitted or received light sentences.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-DickieCosaNostra325_65-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#cite_note-DickieCosaNostra325-65 [65]]</sup> The inactivity plus money lost to legal fees and so forth reduced most mafiosi to poverty.