Convicted mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro was arrested on Monday in Sicily’s capital, Palermo. He was Italy’s most wanted fugitive for almost thirty years.
Convicted mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro has been captured after 30 years on the run, the Associated Press reports.
The 60-year-old Denaro was arrested on Monday in the Sicilian capital Palermo. Denaro had been on the run since 1993 and even while on the run was considered the top boss of Italy’s Cosa Nostra.
Denaro was captured at the clinic in Palermo, where he was being treated for an “undisclosed medical condition,” Carabinieri General Pasquale Angelosanto, leader of the police special operations team, told the AP. He is believed to be responsible for several murders, most notably the infamous 1992 murder of anti-mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.
Denaro recently came to the clinic under an alias, which allowed investigators to locate him before Monday’s arrest. “It all led to today’s date (when) he would have come for some tests and treatment” at the clinic,” Angelosanto told reporters, adding that Denaro “didn’t resist at all” during the arrest.
“A great victory for the state, which shows that it does not give up against the mafia,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on Twitter. “Another organized crime chief, Matteo Messina Denaro, is being brought to justice.”
Una grande vittoria dello Stato che dimostra di non arrendersi di fronte alla mafia. All'indomani dell'anniversario dell'arresto di Totò Riina, un altro capo della criminalità organizzata, Matteo Messina Denaro, viene assicurato alla giustizia. pic.twitter.com/8d6sHaDloK
— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) January 16, 2023
Una bella giornata per l'Italia tutta. La Nazione è orgogliosa di voi. pic.twitter.com/Vrl0LREeVz
— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) January 16, 2023
“A beautiful day for all of Italy. The nation is proud of you,” Meloni added.
