2023-09-25 09:55:00
Sicilian mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, captured in January after spending three decades on the run, has died in a hospital in central Italy, authorities in the city of L’Aquila confirmed.
Messina Denaro, 61, was receiving treatment for colon cancer in the maximum security penitentiary in this Italian location, but as his health condition worsened, the criminal was transferred to a hospital last month.
The mayor of L’Aquila, Pierluigi Biondi, confirmed the mobster’s death in hospital “after the illness worsened”, in statements released by the ANSA news agency, the first to report Messina Denaro’s death.
The death “ends a story of violence and blood”, said Biondi, who thanked the prison and hospital staff for their “professionalism and humanity”.
“It was the epilogue to an existence lived without remorse or regret, a painful chapter in our nation’s recent history,” he added.
Messina Denaro was one of the most ruthless leaders of Cosa Nostra, the mafia represented in the “Godfather” films.
He was convicted by the courts for his involvement in the murder of anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone in 1992 and for fatal bombings in Rome, Florence and Milan in 1993.
One of six life sentences against Messina Denaro was issued for the kidnapping and murder of the 12-year-old son of a witness in the Falcone case.
Messina Denaro disappeared in the summer of 1993 and spent 30 years in hiding, while the Italian state fought the Sicilian mafia.
He remained on Italy’s list of most wanted criminals and, over time, became a legendary criminal figure.
On January 16, 2023, the mobster was detained during a visit to a clinic, where he was treated with a false identity document.
The criminal was taken to the L’Aquila maximum security prison, where he continued treatment for colon cancer.
In August, Messina Denaro was transferred to the detainee ward of the local hospital, where his condition worsened in recent days.
At the weekend, the press reported that he was in an “irreversible coma”. Doctors stopped feeding him and he had asked not to be resuscitated.
Wiretaps
After Messina Denaro’s escape, Italians speculated intensely about the possibility of escaping abroad. But authorities discovered he remained in his hometown of Castelvetrano, western Sicily.
The burial ceremony should take place in the family tomb in the locality, next to his father, Don Ciccio, according to the newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Don Ciccio was also head of the local clan. Rumors state that he died of a heart attack while fleeing and that his body was abandoned in the field, dressed for the funeral.
Investigators searched for Messina Denaro for years in the Sicilian countryside, in hiding places and intercepting wiretaps on members of her family and friends.
These people talked about the medical problems of an anonymous person who suffered from cancer and eye problems. Detectives were certain the identity matched Messina Denaro.
Police officers used a national health system database to search for male patients with the appropriate age and medical history and were finally able to complete the case.
Although the arrest brought some relief to the victims, the mafia boss remained silent.
In an interview in custody, Messina Denaro even denied that she was a member of Cosa Nostra.
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