Italy’s Most Wanted Mafia Boss Arrested After 30 Years

By Lina M

Warning: this article may contain distressing content for some readers

Matteo Massino Denaro, the most wanted mafia boss for the last 30 years has finally been arrested last week. Over one hundred armed forces executed this arrested in the streets of Palermo in the morning. Everyone knew that this number of men meant only one fugitive could be in the area, and cheers broke out instantly.

You may ask why this man has such an infamous reputation, but it is barely surprising considering his notorious crimes. Aside from being one of the biggest mafia bosses at large, his crimes were nicknamed the height of the ‘massacre season’ in the early 1990s. Throughout his sustained murder campaign, more than 20 people were killed, and he reportedly boasted that the number of his victims could ‘fill a cemetery’. As well as this, in 1993, he kidnapped and murdered the 11year-old son of a mafioso-turned-state witness, holding him in captivity for two years, before being killed and his body dissolved in acid. Despite his numerous crimes, he managed to constantly evade arrest, through his huge network of Mafia. According to the press conference following his arrest, it was most likely that he had been aided by local professional, entrepreneurs, and politicians, illustrating the scarily deep-rooted influence this man had on civilians, whom you would not suspect having any association to this man.

Despite the years of car bombs and violence perhaps being over, several experts have concluded that the Mafia has turned into a more sinister organization. This arrest is still being seen as a form of liberation, and one that may be the end of a violent era.