Perfumes, watches and luxury clothing: the life of mafia ‘capo’ Messina Denaro in a Sicilian town

there police In the last few hours, a townhouse located in a cul-de-sac, with perfumes, watches and luxury clothing on the first floor, has been discovered and searched. Sicilian Mafia. But this is not the only detail that stands out, rather the town in question is located in the province of Trapani, just a 15-minute drive from Castelvetrano, where Messina Denaro was born 60 years ago. Messina Denaro, the last major representative of this mafia, which worked with attacks and bombs in the 1990s, lived in this facility under the pseudonym Andrea Bonafede, which he used when he was arrested in a health center in Palermo on Monday.

The fact led to dozens of historians traveling to the site in search of information about the ringleader’s lair. The result was strange scenes. For example, a neighbor said he only said “good morning” to the gangster and had no idea who he was. “Why should I be suspicious? He seemed like a normal person, always alone,” he added. “I remember him as a good person and a young man with Ray Ban glasses,” said another woman, who said she knew Messina Denaro’s brother’s wife.

protection net

The snapshot clashes with other parallel facts that emerged after the mob boss’s arrest. First, citizens in Palermo on Monday celebrated his arrest with applause and gestures of appreciation. fugitive. Second, there are many explanations made by the researchers themselves about something that seems certain: Messina Denaro has only been hidden for so many years thanks to a widespread disease. protection net reached the bowels of society. A hidden network that is still active.

The capture of the mob boss “is a positive sign, but we must not forget that he has been a fugitive for 30 years. This means that it has very strong protection,” he said. Sebastiano ArditaMember of the Supreme Council of the Italian Magistrates’ Court and experienced in the fight against the mafia. “There is an open discussion today about this flight, which has recorded moments of lack of coordination in the past years. Situation“, added. It is even believed that Denaro of Messina was in various places before his arrest. Palermo.

That will be one of investigators’ priorities in the weeks and months ahead: identifying who is protecting Messina Denaro, or even allowing him to take care of his health with regular medical appointments, as he explains. Maurizio de Lucia, one of the Palermo prosecutors in charge of the case. There is “a mafia bourgeoisie,” Lucia had said on Monday. With that is a doctor, someone named Alfonso Tumbarello, who deals with the health of the mafia and has ties to the People of Freedom, a coalition formed (today defunct) by the former prime minister, according to the first reorganizations. Silvo Berlusconi. “I knew nothing”, Tumbarello has already defended himself.

Riina’s Treasure

That’s not the only secret the researchers hope to uncover. so called treasure Toto RiinaAnother big mafia boss who died in 2017, Messina Denaro was a lieutenant, thanks to which he came to save millions of euros. illegal business and he was one of the minds of this strategy attacks shook Italy at the end of the last century. But some pointed out that the arrest of the elderly crime leader occurred when he was already very ill after being attacked by various cancers, some of which could prove fatal in the short or medium term.

Even the most active associations anti mafia fight They insisted that the time had not yet come to consider the war won. “This fight does not end here,” said the Anti-Mafia and Legality Association. This is because it is still necessary to define the ‘fine minds’ he speaks of. Giovanni Falcone (the murdered anti-mafia judge) and the ‘traitors’ he refers to Paolo Borsellino (the judge was also assassinated), who is behind the many mysteries and unsolved crimes in the country.”