Italy’s most notorious mafia ‘godfather’ has reportedly been captured in Sicily after 30 years on the run.
Matteo Messina Denaro, 60, was arrested in Sicily’s capital, Palermo on Monday, reported multiple outlets including theBBCandLa Repubblica.
He is believed to be thehead of the Sicilian Cosa Nostraand responsible for multiple murders including the infamous 1992 murders of anti-mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, reportedThe Washington Post.
Italian authorities also believe he was behind a string of fatal 1993 bomb attacks in Milan, Florence and Rome, added the BBC.
“A great victory for the state which demonstrates that it does not give up in the face of the mafia,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni posted on Twitter after Denaro was arrested at a private medical clinic at around 10:00 a.m. local time.
“Another head of organized crime, Matteo Messina Denaro, is brought to justice,” she added.
Former Italian anti-Mafia prosecutor Gian Carlo Caselli added that the arrest was “exceptional… simply historical event,” reported the BBC.
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Along with the Naples-based Camorra and Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, the Cosa Nostra is one of Italy’s three major crime families.
Europol describes the organization as “theoldest, most traditional and widespreadmanifestation of the Sicilian Mafia” with expertise in international money laundering and cocaine trafficking.
“Extremely skilled Cosa Nostra money launderers manage legitimate business structures and have infiltrated the economy of some target countries, including South Africa, Canada, USA, Venezuela and Spain,” adds the Europol website.
The organization is also indelibly linked with Hollywood, through the three Godfather movies starringAl Pacino,Robert DeNiro,Marlon BrandoandJames Caan.
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While Denaro had been on the run since 1993, he is believed to have continued to pull the strings of the Cosa Nostra from a number of secret hideouts.
During his three decades on the run, he also became a potent symbol of the Italian government’s long-standing failure to defeat organized crime.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Carabinieri commander Pasquale Angelosanto, said that Denaro had been captured while seeking treatment for an unknown illness, reportedThe Washington Post.
The clinic’s owner, Stefania Filosto, revealed that he had been using the fake name “Bonafede,” addedThe Washington Post, citing theCorriere della Seranewspaper.
“Nobody could have imagined” continued Filosto, who added that Denaro had been waiting for a COVID-19 test when “suddenly armed men appeared.”
source: people.com
