Matteo Messina Denaro, also known as Diabolik, was a Sicilian Mafia boss from Castelvetrano. He was considered to be one of the new leaders of the Sicilian mob after the arrests of Bernardo Provenzano on 11 April 2006 and Salvatore Lo Piccolo in November 2007.
Matteo Messina Denaro obituary
Italian prosecutors announced the death on Monday, which occurred at a hospital in the central Italian city of L’Aquila. He was reported to have had colon cancer, among other ailments.
Reputed by investigators to be one of the Mafia’s most powerful bosses, Mr. Messina Denaro had been living while a fugitive in western Sicily, his stronghold, during at least much of his 30 years of eluding law enforcement thanks to the help of complicit townspeople. His need for colon cancer treatment led to his capture on Jan. 16.
Investigators were on his trail for years and had discovered evidence that he was receiving chemotherapy as an outpatient at a Palermo clinic under an alias. Digging into Italy’s national health system database, they tracked him down and took him into custody when he showed up for a treatment appointment.