Jailed Italian Mafia Boss Matteo Messina Denaro Dies of Cancer

Facts

• Matteo Messina Denaro, an Italian Mafia boss arrested in January after three decades on the run, died on Monday in the L'Aquila Hospital in central Italy after falling into an 'irreversible coma' over the weekend.¹
• Though the Sicilian Mafia leader had long been afflicted with colon cancer — with his condition having deteriorated in the past several weeks — the L'Aquila prosecutors office as well as that of prosecutors in Palermo, Sicily have requested an autopsy.²
• His body is expected to be transferred to his hometown of Castelvetrano in western Sicily in the coming days, but a funeral is unlikely as police usually ban such ceremonies for mafia bosses.³
• Prosecutors have reportedly always doubted that Messina Denaro — dubbed 'the last Godfather' by the press — ever became the 'boss of bosses' in the Sicilian mob, claiming that it was instead more likely that he was simply a regional leader of Cosa Nostra.⁴
• Messina Denaro previously received 20 life prison terms for his role in the 1992 murders of anti-Mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, in the 1993 bombings across Italy, and in the kidnapping and killing of a boy whose father had evidence against the mob.⁵
• He is survived by his 27-year-old daughter, Lorenza Alagna, whose mother is one of the convicted mafioso's many lovers, and his sister, Patrizia Messina Denaro, who is currently serving a 14-year prison term for being a member of the Mafia.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Associated Press, ³France 24, ⁴New York Post, ⁵Reuters and ⁶CNN.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Vice. While the death of Messina Denaro brings to a close the purest era of Cosa Nostra, it's a bitter development for Italians who waited decades for him to be brought to justice, as he spent less than a year behind bars. This sense of impunity is no good for the country, as it can only embolden the Mafiosi to continue engaging in their criminal behavior.
• Narrative B, as provided by Agenzia nova. The story of Messina Denaro, as well as that of several other mafia bosses, teaches those who are attracted to the easy money of crime a lesson — that such activity leads to a life without freedom and a death without mercy. While the judicial system uses justice, not revenge, the nation will never forget what mafia members have done to innocent people.