Agent Leon Flosi and Giovanni Falcone

In this third episode of the Pizza Connection story, I interviewed retired FBI agent Leon Flosi about Judge Giovanni Falcone and the Sicilian mafia. Agent Flosi was originally assigned to the Kansas City office where I became acquainted with him. He played an important part in the Strawman case in which he and Agent Bill Ouseley started the case that exposed how the mob’s infiltration of the Teamster’s Union led to their scheme to skim millions from Las Vegas casinos. We learn that Agent Flosi was a native-born Italian and the Bureau promoted him to be the assistant legal Attache in Rome Italy as the Strawman case went to trial. He developed a friendship with the famous mafia fighter, Judge Giuseppe Falcone. Together they set up an unprecedented working relationship between the New York City FBI office and Sicilian law enforcement.

Agent Flosi creates the Italian-American Law Enforcement Task Force

Agent Flosi reveals how he even encouraged a relationship between the Italian police, Judge Falcone, and the FBI to combat the importation of heroin into the United States. He even brought Judge Falcone to his home in Chicago and how the judge was able to relax without fear of his mafia stalkers for the first time.

The murder of Giuseppe Falcone

Eventually, the Mafia will set up and murder Judge Falcone. Agent Flosi reveals that the Mafia set up an ambush on a road that Judge Falcone traveled down on a regular basis. They set a huge cache of explosives in a culvert under this road. They established a look-out spot on top of a nearby hill and when the assassins saw Judge Falcone’s motorcade cross the culvert they detonated the bombing causing his death. The Italian police found cigarette butts and empty water bottles at the ambush lookout site. They never made any arrests leading to a conviction of this horrific crime.

 

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