Italy catches ruthless Mafia boss after 30 years on the run

Italian police caught one of the most notorious bosses of the Sicilian Mafia, Matteo Messina Denaro, a ruthless operator who had been on the run for 30 years.

The 60-year-old was arrested after visiting a health clinic in the Sicilian capital Palermo where he was being treated, and surrendered without putting up a fight, officials said.

Messina Denaro, had been a leading figure in Cosa Nostra, the real-life Sicilian crime syndicate depicted in the Godfather movies.

The mobster, who had been on the run since 1993, was believed to have been undergoing periodic treatment for colon cancer, and was using a false ID.

Palermo residents gathered to show their appreciation for the Carabinieri and the Public Prosecutor's Office of Palermo after one of the most notorious bosses of the Sicilian Mafia, Matteo Messina Denaro.

Messina Denaro was one of the mob's most brutal bosses, whose convictions included a life sentence given in absentia in 2020 for the 1992 murder of anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone.

Among other crimes, he was convicted in absentia of being behind the 1993 bombings in Rome, Milan and Florence that killed 10 people.

Chief prosecutor Maurizio De Lucia confirmed that despite his fugitive status, he had been an "operative boss", with "contacts and economic resources".

"Obviously the mafia is not defeated, and the biggest mistake to make would be to think that the game is over," he said.

"Because the game is not over."