Nov 05 2007
Mafia ‘boss of bosses’ held in Italy raid
Italian police secured another notable success in their fight against organised crime on Monday, arresting Salvatore Lo Piccolo, the man alleged to be the new “boss of bosses” of the Sicilian Mafia.
Mr Lo Piccolo, whose nickname is “The Baron”, was arrested with his son and two others in a raid near Palermo in Sicily.
Police claim Mr Lo Piccolo had emerged only recently as the leader of the Mafia on the island amid infighting following the arrest last year of Bernardo Provenzano.
Mr Provenzano’s arrest came after 43 years on the run. While Mr Lo Piccolo cannot match that, he had been eluding capture since 1983. Italian authorities were understandably elated on Monday, but they warned of possible further feuding and murders.
Francesco Forgione, president of Italy’s anti-mafia commission, said: “The Lo Piccolos are two high-level bosses who were working on strengthening the Mafia after the arrest of Provenzano.
“They were negotiating with the American [crime] bosses, and were particularly attentive to the economic, financial and business interests of the mob families.”
Romano Prodi, Italy’s prime minister, hailed the arrests as “a success for the state . . . and all honest citizens”.
Giuliano Amato, Italy’s interior minister, said the latest arrests demonstrated the ability of the state to dismantle the Mafia’s leadership.
“No organisation can survive for long when it is continuously deprived of its leadership,” he said.
In spite of years of stuttering advances against organised crime, Italian life is still shocked by periodic explosions of violence and businesses are still, according to recent reports, paying widespread protection money to gangsters.
Last month a report by a business group said that the Mafia collectively was Italy’s “biggest company”, taking in about €41bn ($59bn, £29bn) a year in extortion, lending and other activities.
In August six Italian men were killed in western Germany, marking the first time a Mafia feud in Italy’s Calabria region had spread outside the country.
Mr Lo Piccolo began his crime career as a bodyguard for a Sicilian mobster and worked his way up the organisation until he took over after Mr Provenzano’s arrest in 2006. He has been on the run for 24 years.
After Mr Provenzano’s arrest, Mr Lo Piccolo fought for the Mafia’s leadership against another contender, Matteo Messina Denaro, magistrates believe.
Mr Provenzano, who was known as “The Tractor”, took on legendary status because he had managed to elude police for decades.
In the 18 months since Mr Provenzano’s arrest, there have been four Mafia killings that investigators say may have been part of a battle between Mr Lo Piccolo and Mr Denaro for leadership of the crime group.
Mafia ‘boss of bosses’ held in Italy raid - By Adrian Michaels in Milan - Published: November 5 2007 20:15 | Last updated: November 5 2007 20:15 - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b139daaa-8bda-11dc-af4d-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1
Is there any chance that he will be able to run the mafia from inside jail, or even shorten his jail period? Will he recieve a life time jail?