Italy police arrest notorious mafia after 30 years

One of the most prominent Sicilian Mafia bosses, Matteo Messina Denaro, was apprehended by Italian police on Monday after spending 30 years on the run.

The 60-year-old was detained after going to a medical facility in Palermo, the capital of Sicily, where he was receiving treatment, and he submitted without resistance, according to officials.

Messina Denaro, a prominent member of the Cosa Nostra, the authentic Sicilian crime organization featured in the Godfather films, had purportedly boasted that he could "load a cemetery" with his victims.

Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, flew to Palermo to personally congratulate officials on what she called "a serious setback for organized crime."

The mobster, who had been hiding out since 1993, was thought to have been receiving recurrent colon cancer treatment while presenting himself with a fake ID.

He wasn't carrying a weapon when he was taken into custody, according to the prosecution, and he looked healthy, well-groomed, and accessorized with pricey items like watches that may have cost up to 35,000 euros.

One of the most violent mob bosses, Messina Denaro received a life sentence in absentia in 2020 for the murder of anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone in 1992.

Despite being on the run, chief prosecutor Maurizio De Lucia acknowledged that the man had been an "operative leader" with "contacts and financial resources."

He did, however, issue a warning that the Cosa Nostra "has never been the exclusive property of Messina Denaro," despite the fact that it has recently been overshadowed by the rival 'Ndrangheta mafia.

“Obviously the mafia is not defeated, and the biggest mistake to make would be to think that the game is over,” he said.

“Because the game is not over.”

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