by Lorenzo Tondo

Mario Cuomo, the former governor of New York, was targeted for assassination by the Sicilian mafia during a trip to Italy in 1992, according to an imprisoned Cosa Nostra hitman. Maurizio Avola, 54 – who is currently serving a life sentence for his part in 43 murders and 40 armed robberies – told the Guardian that mobster bosses planned an ambush involving about a dozen gunmen armed with assault rifles and explosives.

The attack was only called off when the scale of Cuomo's security detail became apparent, he said. Avola said that after the assassinations of prominent anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino in 1992, Cosa Nostra bosses decided to escalate their war against the Italian state and its allies. "The aim was to target politicians or members of institutions in order to send out a clear message," he said, in an interview via messages carried by his lawyer. When Cuomo's visit to Italy was announced, Avola's godfather, Aldo Ercolano, told him that the New York governor would be an "excellent target".

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Source: http://www.theguardian.com/