caption death_date death_place birth_place nationality birth_date known_for alma_mater image article_title name occupation death_cause
antimafia prosecutor giovanni falcone 23 may 1992 palermo palermo , sicily -lrb- italy -rrb- italian 18 may 1939 investigations into the mafia university & nbsp ; & nbsp ; & nbsp ; of & nbsp ; palermo falconebn.jpg giovanni falcone
 giovanni falcone magistrate killed by the sicilian mafia
giovanni falcone

giovanni falcone -lrb- ; 18 may 1939 -- 23 may 1992 -rrb- was an italian prosecuting magistrate .
from his office in the palace of justice in palermo -lrb- sicily -rrb- , he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the sicilian mafia .
after a long and distinguished career , culminating in the famous maxi trial in 1986-1987 , he was killed by the corleonesi mafia in may 1992 , on the motorway near the town of capaci .
his life parallels that of his close friend paolo borsellino .
they both spent their early years in the same neighbourhood in palermo .
and though many of their childhood friends grew up in the mafia background , both men fought on the other side of the war as prosecuting magistrates .
they were both killed in 1992 , a few months apart .
in recognition of their tireless effort and sacrifice during the anti-mafia trials , they were both awarded the italian `` medaglia d'oro al valore civile '' -lrb- gold medal for civil valor -rrb- .
they were also named as heroes of the last 60 years in the november 13 , 2006 , issue of `` time magazine '' .
