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| Police arrest 11 suspects linked to fugitive head of Sicilian mafia | Police arrest 11 suspects linked to fugitive head of Sicilian mafia |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Italian police have arrested 11 suspects linked to the fugitive head of the Sicilian mafia, including one who ran a secret message system for the mobster using a code based on sheep farming. | |
| Police said Matteo Messina Denaro, who has been on the run since 1993, used a farm to communicate with his henchmen. He would hide pieces of paper there, containing messages, often written in cipher. | |
| Among those arrested was Vito Gondola, 77, whose job it allegedly was to call other members to alert them to each new message, which was placed under a rock in a field where he tended sheep. | |
| “I’ve put the ricotta cheese aside for you, will you come by later?” he would say on the telephone – a phrase investigators said had nothing to do with dairy products. | “I’ve put the ricotta cheese aside for you, will you come by later?” he would say on the telephone – a phrase investigators said had nothing to do with dairy products. |
| “The sheep need shearing ... the shears need sharpening” and “the hay is ready”, were among other code phrases used to alert the gang to a new message, written on tightly folded bits of paper wrapped in sticky tape and hidden in the dirt. | |
| The police investigation, which followed the passing of messages between 2011 and 2014, used hidden cameras and microphones around the farm near Trapani, in western Sicily, to follow the movements of the clan – and discover Denaro’s fading glory. | The police investigation, which followed the passing of messages between 2011 and 2014, used hidden cameras and microphones around the farm near Trapani, in western Sicily, to follow the movements of the clan – and discover Denaro’s fading glory. |
| In one recorded conversation, Gondola tells another mobster that Denaro, 53 – who once reportedly boasted he could “fill a cemetery” with his victims – was losing control over the latest generation of criminals, who “disappear without saying anything”. Three of those arrested were over 70. | |
| The only known photos of Denaro date back to the early 1990s. He is believed to be the successor of the godfathers Toto Riina and Bernardo Provenzano, who are both serving life sentences, but less is known about him. | The only known photos of Denaro date back to the early 1990s. He is believed to be the successor of the godfathers Toto Riina and Bernardo Provenzano, who are both serving life sentences, but less is known about him. |
| At the height of his power he had a reputation as a flashy, ruthless womaniser who ruled over at least 900 men with an iron fist. | At the height of his power he had a reputation as a flashy, ruthless womaniser who ruled over at least 900 men with an iron fist. |
| The 11 suspects arrested “were the men who were closest to Denaro right now,” said police official Renato Cortese, adding that it was “too early to say” whether the sting would help investigators close in on the fugitive. | The 11 suspects arrested “were the men who were closest to Denaro right now,” said police official Renato Cortese, adding that it was “too early to say” whether the sting would help investigators close in on the fugitive. |
| Gondola, who rose every morning at 4am to tend to his flock, is also believed to have once been a right-hand man to Riina. In the 1970s he belonged to a gang used by the mafia to carry out kidnappings, according to Italian media reports. | Gondola, who rose every morning at 4am to tend to his flock, is also believed to have once been a right-hand man to Riina. In the 1970s he belonged to a gang used by the mafia to carry out kidnappings, according to Italian media reports. |
| The Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, thanked the investigators in a message on his Facebook page, saying “onwards all, to finally capture the super-fugitive boss,” insisting “Italy is united against organised crime” despite a recent slew of corruption scandals in the country. | The Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, thanked the investigators in a message on his Facebook page, saying “onwards all, to finally capture the super-fugitive boss,” insisting “Italy is united against organised crime” despite a recent slew of corruption scandals in the country. |
| The Sicilian mafia, known as Cosa Nostra (“our thing”), was the country’s most powerful organised crime syndicate in the 1980s and 1990s, but its power has diminished following years of investigations and mass arrests. | The Sicilian mafia, known as Cosa Nostra (“our thing”), was the country’s most powerful organised crime syndicate in the 1980s and 1990s, but its power has diminished following years of investigations and mass arrests. |
| It also faces fierce underworld competition from the increasingly powerful Naples-based Camorra and Calabria’s ’Ndrangheta. | It also faces fierce underworld competition from the increasingly powerful Naples-based Camorra and Calabria’s ’Ndrangheta. |