SICILY – The discovery of a severed horse head, and a cow quartered with its bloodied dead calf on top, have rattled a Sicilian town, with authorities treating the incident as a mafia threat. The dead animals were discovered on the property of a building contractor in the town of Altofonte, near Palermo, police told CNN.

The gruesome scene was reminiscent of the 1972 film “The Godfather” where a character wakes up to find a decapitated head of a horse in his bed. The contractor, who is not being named to protect him during the ongoing investigation, told police that he had not received any threats prior to the discovery of the dead livestock, who were kept on an adjacent property.

The construction and garbage industries remain the two most prominent mafia-linked business sectors in Sicily, according to a recent report from the Anti-Mafia Directorate. The contractor often carried out construction work for the local municipality, which has worked hard to deny mafia-related firms from winning bids, but he had told police he had not been approached by any group demanding money or favors. A police spokesperson told CNN the incident is being treated as a mafia intimidation tactic.

The horrific incident may be related to the recent release of 20 mafia members from local prisons, whose sentences expired, and who may be on a vengeance, according to the Anti-Mafia Directorate’s chief Maurizio de Lucia. “We can’t let our guard down, the fight against the mafia just got more difficult with these men free,” he said in September. The mayor of Altofonte, Angela De Lucia, said she was “petrified” when she heard the news. “I can’t comprehend such barbarity,” she told local media outlets. “This act seems to take us back to the middle ages.” (CNN)