World Notes ITALY

Seven months ago, a court in Palermo, Sicily, jailed 338 mafiosi in the biggest trial of its kind in Italian history. Last month, however, eight Sicilian magistrates who have been leading the crackdown requested transfers; they charged that through "omissions and inertia" the government was retreating from the war against organized crime. Among the frustrated judges was Giovanni Falcone, 49, the celebrated Mafia-buster who worked on the Palermo case, as well as the Pizza Connection trial in New York City. Said Minister of Justice Giuliano Vassalli: "The Mafia can hardly fail to exploit this disagreeable episode."

Maybe, maybe not. Last week the government named Domenico Sica, 55, a fierce Roman prosecutor hailed as "superman" by Italian newspapers, to be high commissioner in the fight against the Mafia. In the past two decades, Sica has directed investigations into some of Italy's toughest cases, including the ; attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II and the kidnaping-murder of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro. Sica immediately flew off to Palermo, for a firsthand look at La Piovra, or the octopus, as the mob is known throughout Italy.