Italy’s most wanted mafia bons, Matteo Messina Denaro, has been sentenced to life in absentia by a court in Sicily. Since the arrests of Bernardo Provenzano, in 2006, and Salvatore Lo Piccolo, in 2007, the 58-year-old has been one of the leaders of Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian mafia. Denaro is one of Italy’s six most wanted criminals, and has been sentenced to several life sentences for murder.
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The court in the city of Caltanissetta sentenced Denaro late Tuesday evening for his participation in bomb attacks in 1992 that killed prominent magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, among others. The two fought fiercely against organized crime in Sicily, but had to pay for it with their lives. The murders did generate wide public support for the anti-mafia operation Clean Hands.
The murders took place after a mass trial against more than 300 mafiosi including Cosa Nostra leader Salvatore Riina. The mafiosi were sentenced to more than 2,500 years in prison.
Denaro went into hiding in 1993 and has been on the run ever since. He was thus sentenced in absentia. Dozens of family members and accomplices have already been arrested in the search for Denaro. The relatives of the victims of the attacks were allocated amounts between 10,000 and 500,000 euros, three survivors receive 100,000 euros.
