Topic: Bernardo Provenzano

Bernardo Provenzano (born January 31, 1933 in Corleone, Sicily) is a member of the Sicilian Mafia (Cosa Nostra) and is suspected of having been the head of the Corleonesi, a Mafia faction that originated in the village of Corleone, and de facto capo di tutti capi (boss of bosses) of the entire Sicilian Mafia until his arrest in 2006.

His nickname is Binnu u tratturi (Sicilian for "Binnie the tractor") because, in the words of one informant, "he mows people down." Another nickname is The Accountant due to his apparently subtle and low-key approach to running his crime empire, at least in contrast to some of his more violent predecessors.

He was raised in Corleone, the third of seven brothers, born to peasants. Provenzano left school without finishing primary education, and worked in the fields. He joined the Mafia in his late teens. At the time, Michele Navarra was the head of the Mafia Family of Corleone, but Provenzano became close to Luciano Leggio, a young and ambitious mobster. Navarra and Leggio went to war against each other in the mid-1950s.