The mafia boss, known as “U siccu” (Sicilian for “the drought”), had been sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia for dozens of murders. The ANSA news agency cites the murder of 12-year-old Giuseppe Di Matteo in 1996, the 1993 bombings in Milan, Florence and Rome, and the murder of two mafia hunters, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, as examples.
Messina Denaro went into hiding in 1993. After numerous failed attempts to apprehend him, Messina Denaro was arrested on Monday at the La Maddalena Spa clinic in the San Lorenzo district. Messina Denaro stayed there “to get treatment,” as Pasquale Angelosanto, head of the Carabinieri’s Special Command, said. He is said to have had a tumor, reported the newspaper “Corriere della Sera”.
According to ANSA, Messina Denaro underwent surgery and chemotherapy under the false name “Andre Bonafede” at the specialist oncology clinic, reportedly one of the country’s leading. “We had no idea we were treating Messina Denaro,” said a doctor at the clinic.
Taken to Carabinieri Barracks
When police noticed Messina Denaro in hospital, he tried to escape but was arrested and taken to a Carabinieri barracks in Sicily, investigators said. He should soon be flown out of Palermo to take him to a maximum security prison.
A mobile phone video published by an editor of the SkyTG24 news channel, among others, apparently shows Messina Denaro being taken out of the clinic. Other photos published on social networks also show people applauding in Palermo. In a first photo from a car distributed by the Carabinieri, Messina Denaro can be seen next to two police officers. He wears a light hood and sunglasses.
Successors of Riina and Provenzano
Messina Denaro is considered the most powerful man in the Sicilian mafia and the successor to mafia godfather Salvatore “Toto” Riina, who died in a high-security prison in 2017 at the age of 87.
For years there was only a phantom image of Messina Denaro from the early 1990s. The image was then updated with a new computer program that took the aging process into account down to the smallest detail. In the most recent picture, Messina Dennaro appears visibly aged and with thinning hair.
In recent years, Messina Denaro narrowly escaped capture in raids on Sicily. The boss took over Cosa Nostra after the arrest of godfather Bernardo Provenzano in 2006. According to the police, he had recently made several trips abroad. The mafia boss has expanded his business activities to Venezuela.
“Historical”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described Messina Denaro’s arrest as a great victory for the state. She thanked the investigators for “the arrest of the most important representative of the mafia”. “The government ensures that the fight against mafia crime continues unabated,” said Meloni. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi called the arrest “historic”.
Palermo-born Italian head of state Sergio Mattarella, whose brother Piersanti was murdered by the Mafia in the 1980s, congratulated investigators on their arrest.
Palermo Mayor Roberto Lagalla also commented on the arrest: “The arrest of boss Messina Denaro is a great victory for the state and a turning point in the institutional and law enforcement struggle against the Mafia. My heartfelt thanks go to all investigators.”
