Matteo Messina Denaro, a notorious Sicilian Mafia boss who was captured in January after evading authorities for three decades, has passed away in a central Italy hospital. The 61-year-old’s death was attributed to colon cancer, which he had been receiving treatment for while on the run, ultimately leading to his arrest at a clinic in Palermo.
Messina Denaro held a fearsome reputation as one of the most ruthless figures in Cosa Nostra, the real-life Sicilian crime syndicate famously depicted in the Godfather movies. He faced convictions in court for his involvement in the murder of anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone in 1992, as well as deadly bombings in Rome, Florence, and Milan in 1993.
One of his six life sentences was linked to the kidnapping and subsequent murder of a 12-year-old witness’s son in the Falcone case.
Having disappeared in the summer of 1993, Messina Denaro spent the following 30 years on the run as Italian authorities relentlessly pursued the Sicilian mob. Throughout this time, he remained at the top of Italy’s most-wanted list and became an infamous and elusive figure.
However, his capture came as a shocking turn of events on January 16, 2023, when he was apprehended while receiving medical treatment under a false identity. Following his arrest, he was held in a high-security prison in L’Aquila, central Italy, where he continued to receive medical care for his cancer while incarcerated.
As his health deteriorated, Messina Denaro was transferred to the inmates’ ward of a local hospital in August. Reports over the weekend indicated that he had fallen into an “irreversible coma.” Medical professionals ceased feeding him, and he had expressed a wish not to be resuscitated.
While his arrest may have offered some solace to his victims, the Mafia boss remained steadfast in his silence. In interviews during his custody, Messina Denaro even denied being a member of Cosa Nostra.
Following his evasion, speculation swirled that he had fled abroad, but investigators ultimately traced him to a location near his hometown of Castelvetrano in western Sicily.
Preparations for his burial are already underway in the family tomb in Castelvetrano, where he will be laid to rest alongside his father, Don Ciccio, who was also a prominent figure in the local clan. Don Ciccio had reportedly passed away from a heart attack while on the run, and his body was found dressed for a funeral in the countryside.
Law enforcement had scoured the Sicilian countryside for Messina Denaro for years, conducting searches for hideouts and wiretapping conversations among his family members and friends. Detectives zeroed in on discussions about an unnamed individual with cancer and eye problems, strongly suspecting that it was Messina Denaro. By cross-referencing medical history and age within the national health system database, authorities eventually closed in on their fugitive target.