Navarra was born in the Sicilian town of Corleone in a middle class family; his father was a small landowner, a land surveyor and a teacher at the local agrarian school.

[3] By skilful manipulation of the Mafia network of mutual aid and graft, he occupied several key positions in the establishment of Corleone, had powerful political connections and enjoyed a high status.

[4][5] He became the official medical adviser to the Ferrovie dello Stato (Italian State Railways), which was offered to him when, in public competition, he was the only candidate.

[3][6] A new large modern hospital in Corleone stood empty from 1952 to 1958 and was only put into service after the death of Navarra, the director of the old one.

He issued certificates to the effect that they were blind or short-sighted and therefore had to be assisted in the act of voting in order to enable Navarra’s men to accompany them into the polling booth and check their ballot.

[9] When Leggio murdered the Socialist trade union leader Placido Rizzotto in March 1948, Navarra made sure to dispose of the only witness, Giuseppe Letizia, an 11-year-old shepherd.

[10] Meanwhile, his former underling Leggio developed his own rackets, independently from Navarra – transport, smuggling stolen cattle and selling the meat on Palermo’s wholesale market.

[3] Conflicts of interest between Navarra and Leggio also arose over a plan to dam the Belice river at the Piano della Scala near Corleone.

Springs in Sicily are private property and their exploitation, yielding large profits, is traditionally associated with Mafia power.

The Antimafia Commission remarked that “the small size of his estate shows that Navarra has always aimed at power, rather than at money for its own sake … He often spent more than he brought in, both in his medical activities and in his career as Mafioso.”[13]