ROME—Italy’s top fugitive, 60 years old Matteo Messina Denarowas arrested in Palermo after 30 years on the lam. Considered by many to be the boss of the bosses of Sicilian Mafia Cosa Nostra, Denaro was tried in absentia for numerous murders and other mafia crimes. He was sentenced to multiple life sentences.
Messina Denaro was on Europol’s Most Wanted list and spent some time on the FBI’s Most Wanted list shortly after he went into hiding in 1993. He is the most wanted person. in Italy.
“We have caught the last serial killer responsible for the massacres of 1992-1993,” Palermo prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia said at a news conference after his arrest. “We are especially proud of the work completed this morning, which is the result of a long and very delicate work. That is the debt the Republic owes to the victims of the mafia that we have partially repaid.”
He added that “catching a dangerous fugitive without resorting to violence and without handcuffs is an important sign for a democratic country.”
Denaro’s most notorious crime was his role in the 1992 twin assassinations of anti-mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who were targeted in separate bombings. His worst crime was probably ordering the kidnapping and murder of a traitor’s 12-year-old son and then burying the body in acid.
Denaro was arrested inside the private clinic La Maddalena in central Palermo around 10 a.m. local time Monday. He is receiving medical treatment under the alias Andrea Bonafede, which means “goodwill”.
Police said the arrest came after years of investigation led them to track down his ongoing health problems and to the clinic where he was arrested. It’s unclear exactly when authorities learned Denaro was there. More than 100 officers were involved in the raid on Monday morning, and the mafia boss was led out of the clinic without incident as people cheered in the streets.
In recent years, the siege around Denaro began to close with the arrest of his siblings, associates, and financial backers. More than $5 billion worth of assets tied to his activities as he led Cosa Nostra have been seized over the past two decades.
Police said they would work to unravel the network that protected him, particularly at the medical clinic. When he was arrested, police approached him in the reception area of the clinic and asked for his name. “I’m Matteo Messina Denaro,” he replied, giving up his alias for the last time.
He is being held in an undisclosed high-security prison. He is not expected to appear in court. Olive farmer Giovanni Luppino, who is believed to be his main financial supporter, was also arrested for driving Denaro to the clinic.
