Overview

• On January 6, 1980, Piersanti Mattarella, then president of Sicily’s regional government, was assassinated by mafia gunmen in Palermo.
• Investigators originally isolated a print from the driver’s door of the Fiat 127 getaway car but lacked the technology to identify its owner.
• Palermo’s Public Prosecutor’s Office has commissioned advanced DNA analysis on the decades-old imprint and appointed expert examiners for June 12, 2025.
• The forensic comparison will focus on Antonio Madonia and Giuseppe Lucchese, whom prosecutors have named as the likely triggermen in the hit.
• A conclusive match could finally pinpoint the assassins and shed new light on Cosa Nostra’s orchestration of the killing.