Pregnant cow slaughtered, horse beheaded: brutal mafia action in Sicily!

Palermo - On the Italian island of Sicily, the mafia has decapitated a horse and dismembered a pregnant cow.

The horse's head as well as the dead cow and her calf were found on the property of a building contractor in the municipality of Altofonte, police told CNN.

Investigators have so far assumed that this bloody action was an attempt at intimidation.

It is still unclear why the businessman was targeted by the mobsters. According to his own statement, this was the first threat against him.

One possible reason why the man may have incurred the wrath of the mafia: With his construction company, he is said to have snatched building contracts from the municipality away from those companies owned by the mafia.

This brutal incident is reminiscent of the famous mafia film "The Godfather" (1972). In it, a severed horse's head is placed in the bed of a film producer as a warning.