26 September 2023 , 05:05
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An elusive mob boss who has evaded law enforcement for nearly three decades has died in custody.
The notorious Matteo Messina Denaro, known as "Diabolik", is said to have ordered numerous Mafia-related murders for the Cosa Nostra crime collective. He died while receiving treatment for his colon cancer at San Salvatore hospital in central Italy. Reports say the gangster was in a medically induced coma at the time of his death.
Denaro was a fugitive since 1993 and was considered one of Europe's most wanted according to prosecutors. He was finally arrested in January at a private health clinic in Palermo after police conducted a raid. It took more than 100 agents with the anti-Mafia police taskforce.
Denaro's heinous acts include the murders of two prosecutors and an 11-year-old boy (ANSA/AFP via Getty Images)The Italian authorities seized about £2,663,570 in assets that belonged to Denaro's comrades, family and close associates suspected of aiding his elusion of police. Experts said that police made the arrest at a substantial time as Denaro wasn't as powerful and influential within Cosa Nostra as he once was, CNN reported.
Denaro had a myriad of charges waiting for him upon capture. He was given several life sentences in absentia for his many, many heinous acts. These include his involvement in the killings of prosecutors Giovonni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who were known to be harsher toward Mafia-related crimes.
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Italian authorities seized billions worth of Denaro's assets before conducting a police raid at a private medical clinic in Italy (AFP via Getty Images)His most recent life sentence was handed down in 2020 for his hand in the fatal Italy bombings, which occurred in Milan, Florence and Rome in the late 1990s. Prosecutors also believed he was responsible for the murder and torture of an 11-year-old, the son of one of his enemies, who testified against Cosa Nostra.
Before his death, prosecutors were trying to convince higher court judges to hear the charges against the mob boss. They were confident in getting a conviction as Denaro's only defence was to deny all allegations.
It was about 20 years into hiding when rumors about his deteriorating health emerged in Sicily. There were growing speculations that he struck a deal with law enforcement for better cancer treatment.
Rumors around Italy stated that Denaro surrendered himself for better cancer treatment (AFP via Getty Images)Denaro surprisingly admitted his identity upon capture instead of attempting to use his alias. Police later uncovered at least two hideouts connected to Cosa Nostra where Denaro was likely harbored. One in Campobello di Mazara, a town in Sicily, was in a fortified bunker behind a hidden door, according to Reuters.
Felia Allum, professor of comparative organized crime at University of Bath in the UK, said in January that Denaro is the last of his kind. He says it is now the time of the more professional, inconspicuous mafia boss.
“He represents the final link between the belligerent and overt Cosa Nostra of the early 1990s and the silent, business-like Mafia of the 21st century,” she said in January.