"We have captured the last person responsible for the 1992-93 massacres and we are particularly proud of the work completed today, which concludes a long and very delicate effort".

Thus the prosecutor of Palermo Maurizio de Lucia in the press conference organized by the investigators after the arrest of Matteo Messina Denaro, the superboss of Cosa Nostra who has been on the run for 30 years and stopped right in Palermo, on his way to an oncological visit in a private clinic.

"It is a debt that the Republic owed to the victims of the mafia - added de Lucia - which we have partially paid".

"Capturing a dangerous fugitive without resorting to violence and without handcuffs is an important sign for a democratic country", underlined the Palermo prosecutor, expressing "my thanks to my colleague Paolo Guido who masterfully carried out the investigation and my affection and recognition to the Arma and to the Ros that we have seen working tirelessly ».

The arrest of the superboss, said Pasquale Angelosanto , commander of the Ros, "is the result of a collective work that has taken place over time , which has been based on the sacrifice of the carabinieri over many years. The last period, those of the Christmas holidays, our people spent in the offices working and putting together the elements that every day were enriched more and more and were communicated. The prosecutor's office was also open on the day before, it was a concerted effort ».

No tip -offs, the investigators specified, but the investigations were conducted with the traditional method, "that of General Dalla Chiesa".

«The Mafia – underlined the prosecutor de Lucia again – is not defeated and the biggest mistake is to think that the game is over».

"We found a well-groomed 60-year-old man, in line with the profile of an average user of an excellent clinic, in good condition despite the problems he had had," the investigators explained. Furthermore , "he was well dressed and was wearing luxury clothes, including a watch worth over 30 thousand euros, a sign of a life of well-being and the support he enjoyed from the network that has always supported him".

"He appeared to us in good health and good looks, it doesn't seem to us that his conditions are incompatible with prison," said Palermo adjunct Paolo Guido.

"At the moment - the investigators explained - we have no elements to speak of complicity of the clinic staff also because the documents exhibited by the fugitive were apparently regular".

The investigators also explained that the circle around Messina Denaro - defined as an "operational leader with economic availability and the ability to be present" in the affairs of Cosa Nostra - has tightened following the lead of patients being treated for cancer.

There was a man by the name of Andrea Bonafede who had booked a visit. The profile was compatible and thus the blitz was triggered. “But until this morning we weren't sure it could be him,” investigators underlined. The boss would have arrived at the Palermo clinic from the Trapani area, without however adding details, "because further investigations are still underway".

Top secret at the moment the prison where the superboss will be destined, who will be subjected to a "hard" prison regime, according to the 41 bis.

THE ARREST OF MESSINA DENARO: READ ALL THE NEWS

(Unioneonline/lf)

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