| "Phantom of Corleone" eventually arrested |
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A Mafia boss of the secret terrorist group in Sicily has been arrested in Sicily. Italian police on Tuesday announced the arrest of Bernardo Provenzano, who had been on the run for more than 40 years.
Provenzano, 73, Italy’s notorious man is believed to have taken over the Sicilian Mafia and emerged as the supreme leader of Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian mafia, after the 1993 arrest of former boss Salvatore "Toto" Riina in the Sicilian capital Palermo.
Italian police captured Mr. Provenzano in a farmhouse in the countryside near the town of Corleone in western Sicily. The state authorities claimed the biggest success against the Mafia in more than 10 years.
Before his arrest the Italian Police only had his last picture taken in 1959 when he was just 25 years of age. After the sensational arrest of Mr. Provenzano, police experts confirmed his identity by means of a DNA test and then moved him to an undisclosed location.
The arrest came amidst the most tension-filled elections in the nation’s history. A two-day battle on Sunday and Monday left the country split almost equally between left and right.
Both sided politicians are coming forward to praise the Italian Police. On one hand where Alfredo Biondi, a legislator in the Forza Italia party of Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister, says, "The arrest of Provenzano is great news, If they had arrested him yesterday (Monday), it would have been even better."
On the other hand Piero Fassino, leader of the Democrats of the Left, the largest opposition party says, "I congratulate the forces of law and order. One cannot, but be happy that the most dangerous exponent of the mafia has been arrested."
Yet the anti-mafia investigators are saying that Mr. Provenzano had evaded arrest for 43 years only because of the help provided by the Sicilian politicians, police and businessmen.
Salvatore Traina, Provenzano’s former attorney Last month was quoted as telling an Italian newspaper that the evasive man was dead. "I think he (Provenzano)’s dead, and has been dead for several years, they have looked for him everywhere, they have looked intensely for years but they can’t find him. This must mean something.
Born in Corleone - a the hill town in Sicily made famous in "The Godfather" films, Provenzano was also known as the "Phantom of Corleone" and was sometimes dubbed "the tractor" because of his way of mowing down his opponents.
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