Mafia chief is among 46 mob leaders arrested in Sicily

ITALIAN authorities have said they have dismantled the Sicilian Mafia by arresting 46 people including the presumed new regional boss who took over after the death of the “capo dei capi” (boss of bosses) Salvatore “Toto” Riina.

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini called the sweep an “extraordinary operation” in the Sicilian capital, Palermo.

Based on wiretaps, police determined that during a May 29 meeting of clan leaders in Palermo, Settimo Mineo had been elected head of the “cupola”, the mob leadership.

It was the first time clan leaders had gathered in such a forum for years, and followed the November 2017 death of Riina, prosecutors said.

Italy’s chief anti-mafia prosecutor, Cafiero De Raho, said the election of Mineo, 80, was significant because it showed that the centre of power of the Sicilian Mafia had shifted to Palermo from Corleone, its longtime base that was made famous by novelist Mario Puzo, who used the town’s name for the main character in his 1969 novel The Godfather.

Palermo prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi recalled that Mineo had already served a lengthy prison sentence for Mafia association and other crimes after he was swept up in the maxitrials against the Sicilian Mafia in the 1980s and 90s. As the eldest of the local clan leaders, he enjoyed particular respect, he said.

“This is a sign that Cosa Nostra doesn’t abandon its rules,” Mr Lo

Voi told a press conference. “And that despite the convictions, despite the trials, important people can take over the most important roles once they’re back in play.”

Those arrested are suspected of Mafia association, extortion, weapons violations and other charges, police said. After Riina’s 1993 arrest, the Sicilian Mafia saw a degree of marginalisation compared with the Calabrian-based ‘ndrangheta organised crime syndicate or the Neapolitan Camorra. But Italian officials said it continued increasing its financial and business activities.

Mr Salvini said in a tweet that the operation had “dismantled the new ‘cupola’ of Cosa Nostra”.

Commenting on yesterday’s raid, the head of the parliamentary antimafia commission, Nicola Morra, said “the state has won”. He warned: “They will never give up – but nor shall we.”