Italian police have successfully captured a longtime fugitive on a Greek island, thanks to an incident related to his passion for Italian soccer. The man, identified as Vincenzo La Porta, had been on the run for 11 years and was among the 100 most dangerous fugitives in Italy.
The breakthrough came when Italian authorities spotted La Porta in a photograph of enthusiastic Napoli football fans celebrating their team’s recent victory at a Corfu restaurant.
With Napoli clinching the top league championship, La Porta’s excitement could not be contained and police immediately launched an operation to track him down.
The 60-year-old fugitive was known to have connections to the notorious Naples-based Camorra syndicate. He had been convicted in absentia of criminal association, tax evasion and fraud.
After his capture, it was revealed that La Porta had been working as an assistant chef at a different restaurant on the island for about a month.
Despite his lawyer’s claims that he had started a new family in Greece and was in failing health, Italian authorities seek his extradition to serve a prison sentence of 14 years and four months.
Police said they had been following La Porta’s online activity, including financial movements, and hoped he would make a false move that could tip them off to his whereabouts, as reported by CBS.
“He was betrayed by his passion for football and for the Napoli team,” police said in a statement, according to the news network. “With the championship win, La Porta couldn’t resist celebrating.”
They did not specify when his arrest took place, but said that he was blocked by officers as he was riding down a Corfu street on a motorbike. Greek police later said La Porta was arrested last Friday.
It should be recalled that in January Italian authorities arrested Italy’s most wanted fugitive and detained mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro after a 30-year manhunt.
The arrest of Messina Denaro brought to an end the era of the Sicilian crime syndicate “Cosa Nostra” depicted in the “Godfather” film saga.
Keep reading:
· Fugitive Mafia Boss Arrested For 17 Years; he posed as a pizza chef
· Matteo Messina Denaro: The last leader of the “Cosa Nostra” is arrested after 30 years of persecution
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