It represents the struggle and rebellion of Italian business owners against Cosa Nostra. In Palermo, at 7.30 a.m. on August 29, 1991, roughly a year before the horrific summer of the massacres that claimed the lives of Falcone and Borsellino, the textile entrepreneur was killed by four gunshots while walking to work. In the 1980s, Grassi becomes a symbol of the fight against the mafia's repeated extortion demands, which he opposes with great media exposure: alone, he resists threats and intimidation with dignity and courage, denouncing and arresting various members of the local criminal underworld and fighting against complicity and silence. A few months after his death, the anti-racketeering law 172 was enacted, along with the creation of a solidarity fund for extortion victims. In 1993, the murderer Salvatore Madonia and his accomplice Marco Favaloro were arrested for his murder; they were definitively convicted in 2008, along with some prominent Cosa Nostra members. "There are people in every country's history who are destined to leave a deep, indelible mark on the lives of individual citizens and entire communities. One of them is Libero Grassi. A man of extraordinary courage and integrity, he challenged the mafia by paying with his life for his refusal to bow to the 'pizzo's' blackmail". The Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, recalled this, emphasizing in this context, among the many actions to combat the mafias, also the crucial role played by the office of the Extraordinary Commissioner of the Government for the coordination of anti-racket and anti-usury initiatives, directed by the Prefect Nicolò, and by the network of associations that supports its commitment in the territories.