Messina Denaro, public funerals prohibited. The magistrates: «To whom will his criminal legacy and his assets?»

First the autopsy, then the body of Matteo Messina Denaro, the superb mafia boss who died at the age of 61, will return to Sicily for burial.

The autopsy examination was entrusted to the medical examiner Christian D'Ovidio, with an impressive array of law enforcement forces - carabinieri, police, army, finance and penitentiary police - in front of and inside the L'Aquila morgue.

Once the investigations have been completed, Messina Denaro's coffin will leave for Sicily.

The police commissioner of Trapani has banned the public funeral for the boss. The funeral, therefore, will take place privately in the cemetery of Castelvetrano, his town.

Meanwhile, now that the boss has passed away, many are wondering about the mysteries he left behind.

One above all: «Who will the legacy of his criminal power go to?». The question is asked by Massimo Russo, a magistrate - now at the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office in Palermo - who for a decade coordinated investigations into the Trapani mafia as deputy of the Palermo district anti-mafia directorate.

Russo, originally from Mazara del Vallo, explains that «after Messina Denaro the inheritance of power will be a crucial issue for the mafia in the province and beyond. Will there be a succession in a purely family context, or will it involve other people? We will certainly need to continue investigating all this and its heritage."

(Unioneonline/lf)