To most observers, Marco Venturi must seem like a model southern Italian businessman. He is a shareholder and director of Sidercem, a firm founded by his father in 1982 that checks the quality of construction materials. Two years ago he became chairman of the small businesses' association of Caltanissetta, the province where he lives in Sicily. Last year he took up the same job at the local chamber of commerce.rnNot everyone approves of Mr Venturi's enthusiastic involvement in civic circles. In August, his wife found a bag outside their home containing two bullets, along with a note saying that he had gone too far. It was only the latest of a series of threats from local mafiosi. The authorities have provided two armed policemen to protect him.
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