Fears that Sicilian mafia bosses could unleash a new crime wave as 20 people – including the killer who ran the ‘death chamber’ where victims were strangled – are released from prison for ‘good behaviour’

By William On Jan 3, 2025

The families of those brutally slaughtered by the Sicilian mafia fear that the more than two dozen mafia bosses released in the past three months could now unleash a new wave of violence in their neighborhoods.

Nine bosses linked to notorious Sicilian mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro were released on leave or for good behavior by the Palermo appeals court in October.

Among those released is Raffaele Galatolo, 74, a mafia boss from Palermo’s Acquasanta neighborhood, after a court called him a “model prisoner” and let him go for good behavior.

Galatolo and his late brother Vincenzo were the masters behind the so-called ‘death chamber’, a room where mafia victims would be strangled on the orders of then Sicilian mafia boss Salvatore ‘Toto’ Riina.

Giuseppe Corona, who had been in custody awaiting trial since 2018, was also released in October after serving the maximum period allowed before his trial.

Salvatore Borsellino, whose brother Paolo – an anti-mafia judge – was murdered by the Cosa Nostra gang in 1992, told The Guardian: ‘the release from prison of gangsters who have always refused to cooperate with the law is always extremely dangerous.

“It is a fatal blow to the fight against the mafia.”

Borsellino’s comments come after Palermo’s chief prosecutor, Maurizio de Lucia, recently filed an appeal to continue focusing on the repression of the mafia.

Raffaele Galatolo, 74, a mafia boss from Palermo’s Acquasanta district, was released in October for good behavior

Giuseppe Corona, who had been in custody awaiting trial since 2018, was also released in October after serving the maximum allowed pre-trial period

Nino Morana Agostino, whose police officer uncle Nino Agostino was shot dead in 1989 along with his pregnant wife Ida, told the Italian newspaper la Repubblica: “We cannot afford to let down our vigilance in the fight against the mafia or this to underestimate.

‘The mafiosi sentenced to life imprisonment and now on parole still harbor heavy secrets about unsolved mafia murders that they have refused to confess.

“That’s why their release sends a bad signal.”

The concerns of prosecutors and family members stem from the fact that several recently released mafia bosses have refused to cooperate with authorities in the past.

Meanwhile, police fear that the Cosa Nostra mafia, which has been in decline for several years, could make a comeback.

Cosa Nostra, the real-life Sicilian crime syndicate depicted in the Godfather films, consists of a coalition of criminal organizations called “families” or “clans.”

They are involved in extortion, smuggling, gambling and mediation in disputes between other criminals.

One of their most notorious and ruthless mafia bosses, Matteo Messina Denaro, died of colon cancer last year at the age of 61, just eight months after being captured by police after 30 years on the run.

Judge Paolo Borsellino was killed in 1992 by a car bomb in Via D’Amelio, Palermo, Italy, by the Sicilian mafia. His brother Salvatore has expressed his concerns about the release of twenty mafia bosses.

Matteo Messina Denaro of the Cosa Nostra mafia was one of the most ruthless and infamous mafia bosses. Several of the released mob members had ties to Denaro, who died last year of colon cancer

Anti-mafia protesters gather in Palermo in 2023 after mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro was arrested after 30 years on the run

Denaro, who was called the ‘last godfather’ of Cosa Nostra, was on the run for thirty years from the murder of fifty people, including a boy dissolved in acid.

He once boasted that he could fill a cemetery with the people he killed.

The mafioso was forced into hiding after ordering a series of deadly attacks, including the murders of anti-mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Borsellino, as well as a series of car bombs in Florence, Milan and Rome that killed ten people and left 93 dead came to life. 1993 injured.

And children were not off limits to Messina Denaro.

The same year, “The Devil” helped organize the kidnapping of a 12-year-old boy, Giuseppe Di Matteo, in an effort to stop his father from testifying against the mafia, prosecutors say.

The boy was held in captivity for two years before he was brutally strangled and his body dissolved in acid.

The Cosa Nostra: the real Sicilian crime syndicate depicted in The Godfather

Cosa Nostra, the real-life Sicilian crime syndicate depicted in the Godfather films, consists of a coalition of criminal organizations called “families” or “clans.” The term Cosa Nostra translates to Our Thing in English.

The history of the Sicilian Mafia dates back to the late 19th century in western Sicily, the largest and most populous island in the Mediterranean. There, the mafia frontmen and bosses established their influence in the region.

One of the main factors that led to the creation of Cosa Nostra was that of Gabellotto (a person who rented agricultural land for short-term use). Their control over relations between landlords and peasants led to powerful mafia bosses in Sicily.

In its quest to maintain control, the Italian state inadvertently supported the growth of this secret society by relying on the expertise of mafiosi familiar with the local environment.

The Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943 also had a profound impact on the Mafia, as it led to the dismissal of fascist officials and the appointment of many previously captured mafiosi to positions of authority. This allowed the mafia to expand its criminal activities outside the island, engaging in protection racketeering, mediating conflicts between criminals and facilitating illegal agreements and transactions.

It is understood that the mafia’s influence in Sicily extended to politics, with some political parties such as Forza Italia being accused of links to Cosa Nostra. The close relationship between the mafia and politics in Sicily has significantly influenced the history and development of the island.

One of their most infamous and ruthless mafia bosses, Matteo Messina Denaro, died of colon cancer in January 2023 at the age of 61.

Dubbed the ‘last godfather’ of Cosa Nostra and ‘The Devil’, Denaro spent thirty years on the run from the murder of fifty people, including a boy dissolved in acid.

He was forced into hiding after ordering a series of deadly attacks, including the murders of anti-Mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, as well as a series of car bombs in Florence, Milan and Rome that killed 10 people and 93 were injured. in 1993.

And children were not off limits. The same year, ‘The Devil’ helped organize the kidnapping of a 12-year-old boy, Giuseppe Di Matteo, in an attempt to stop his father from testifying against the mafia.

The boy was held in captivity for two years before he was brutally strangled and his body dissolved in acid.