Matteo Messina Denaro: After the arrest of Italy’s most wanted criminal, what next for the mafia?
The arrest of a murderous mob boss who had been on the run for decades has prompted relief around Italy – while raising a pressing question: what becomes of the Mafia now?
Matteo Messina Denaro was detained on 16 January while he was at a hospital appointment, where he was getting treatment for cancer.
He had been on the run since 1993 and was jailed in absentia for murders he carried out in the early 1990s.
But with Messina Denaro now out of the picture, who is poised to take control of the Mafia?
Why was he important in the Mafia?
While Messina Denaro was Italy’s most wanted fugitive and the top boss in the Mafia, some experts say he did not control all the Mafia clans – in part because he was not from the Sicilian capital of Palermo.
Still, he was billed as the “last godfather” and was the last fugitive member of a generation of mobsters who masterminded a string of bombings and murders that terrorised Italy in the early 1990s.
The man who was once the “boss of all bosses”, Salvatore ‘Toto’ Riina, was arrested in 1993 and died in 2017. His right-hand man, Bernando Provenzano, was arrested in 2006 and died in 2016.
According to some experts, Cosa Nostra, as the Sicilian Mafia is known, has lacked a supreme leader for years, possibly since Riina – in part because the various clans struggled to convene and select one.
Historian John Dickie, who wrote the book Cosa Nostra: The Definitive History of the Sicilian Mafia, told Sky News the Mafia is broken up, suggesting it might struggle to find someone to lead the group of clans around Palermo.
He said the Mafia’s “hierarchy, its leadership structure, its whole territorial structure… has been hugely disrupted” since the early 1990s.
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How was feared Mafia don captured?
Police think the Mafia is on the hunt for a super-boss
But some investigators see the Sicilian Mafia as a “single-headed structure” – and believe it is searching for its new super-boss.
Speaking about the future of the Mafia shortly after Messina Denaro’s arrest, Palermo prosecutor general Lia Sava said: “What will happen in detail, we can’t know.
“But one thing is sure: Cosa Nostra is made up of rules. It has supported itself on these rules for 150 years, so certainly it will put into motion those rules to repair the damage, and thus create the new leadership structure needed after the arrest.”
Who could become top boss?
So, if the clans get around the table and elect a new head, who would be in the running?
According to many reports in Italy, 85-year-old Settimo Mineo is a frontrunner. Officially, he runs a jewellery shop in Palermo, but he is also considered one of the oldest heads of the Mafia, being named as successor to Riina following his death.
Settimo Mineo. Pic: Getty/Igor Petyx/KONTROLAB/LightRocket
Mineo, like many Mafia members, is currently serving a lengthy jail sentence after being arrested on suspicion of being the Mafia’s top boss – but it is not unusual for leaders to run the business from behind bars.
Corriere della Sera, Italy’s leading newspaper, believes 64-year-old Giovanni Motisi – known to most as “The Fatman”, could be next in line.
Giovanni Motisi. Pic: eumostwanted.eu
He is the boss of the organisation’s Pagliarelli district in Palermo, and has been on the run since 1998 after being found guilty of murdering a police officer. Motisi was also believed to be Riina’s most trusted hitman.
He is one of the most wanted men in Italy, with some even saying he may be dead.
The daily paper also says Giuseppe Auteri, 48, the treasurer of the richest Mafia district in Palermo, is in the running.
Though a barrier for Auteri could be that he has been on the run for a year in the Sicilian underbelly.
Sandro Capizzi also has leadership ambitions in Sicily, according to Sky Tg24. The 41-year-old’s father, Benedetto, attempted to seize power in Cosa Nostra by force in 2008, but the pair were arrested by police who feared Sicily was on the brink of a new Mafia war.
But, the junior of the pair is free from prison and is said to be gunning for head honcho.
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So what’s next for the Cosa Nostra?
Despite its fame as a powerful and ruthless crime syndicate, the Mafia has been struggling for years.
In the lucrative drugs market, it has been supplanted by the ‘Ndrangheta, an organisation based in the Calabria region in southern Italy.
Though the Mafia does retain control of Sicily and some parts of the economy, Anna Sergi, an organised crime expert at Essex University, said: “Messina Denaro was the last godfather, he represented all the secrets of Cosa Nostra.
“It is the end of a myth and the organisation will have to cope with this.”
World
‘At least 798 killed’ at Gaza aid points – as medical charity warns acute malnutrition at all-time high
At least 798 people in Gaza have reportedly been killed while receiving aid in the past six weeks – while acute malnutrition is said to have reached an all-time high.
The UN human rights office said 615 of the deaths – between 27 May and 7 July – were “in the vicinity” of sites run by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
A further 183 people killed were “presumably on the route of aid convoys,” said Ravina Shamdasani, from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Its figures are based on a range of sources, including hospitals, cemeteries, and families in the Gaza Strip, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), its partners on the ground, and Hamas-run health authorities.
Aid agency Project Hope said on Thursday that 10 children were among at least 15 people killed as they waited for its clinic in Deir al Balah to open.
Ten children were reportedly killed when Israel attacked near a clinic on Thursday. Pic: AP
The GHF has claimed the UN figures are “false and misleading” and has repeatedly denied any violence at or around its sites.
Meanwhile, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) – also known as Doctors Without Borders – said two of its sites were seeing their worst-ever levels of severe malnutrition.
Cases at its Gaza City clinic are said to have tripled from 293 in May to 983 in early July.
“Over 700 pregnant or breastfeeding women and nearly 500 children are now receiving emergency nutritional care,” MSF said.
The humanitarian medical charity said food prices were at extreme levels, with sugar at $766 (£567) per kilo and flour $30 (£22) per kilo, and many families surviving on one meal of rice or lentils a day.
It’s a major concern for the estimated 55,000 pregnant women in Gaza, who risk miscarriage, stillbirth and malnourished infants because of the shortages.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, after Israel eased its 11-week blockade of aid into the coastal territory.
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US aid contractors claim live ammo fired at Palestinians
It has four distribution centres, three of which are in the southern Gaza Strip.
The sites, kept off-limits to independent media, are guarded by private security contractors and located in zones where the Israeli military operates.
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire towards crowds of people going to receive aid.
The Israeli military says it has fired warning shots at people who have behaved in what it says is a suspicious manner.
It says its forces operate near the aid sites to stop supplies from falling into the hands of militants.
Read more:
GHF aid distribution linked to increased deaths
Gaza situation ‘apocalyptic’, says UN expert
After the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach the aid hubs, the United Nations has called the GHF’s aid model “inherently unsafe” and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
In response, a GHF spokesperson said: “The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to UN convoys.”
The GHF says it has delivered more than 70 million meals to Gazans in five weeks and claims other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted” by Hamas or criminal gangs.
At least 798 people in Gaza have been killed while receiving aid in six weeks, the UN human rights office has said.
A spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said 615 of the killings were “in the vicinity” of sites run by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
A further 183 people killed were “presumably on the route of aid convoys,” Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
The office said its figures are based on numbers from a range of sources, including hospitals, cemeteries and families in the Gaza Strip, as well as NGOs, its partners on the ground and the Hamas-run health authorities.
The GHF has claimed the figures are “false and misleading”. It has repeatedly denied there has been any violence at or around its sites.
The organisation began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, after Israel eased its 11-week blockade of aid into the enclave.
It has four distribution centres, three of which are in the southern Gaza Strip. The sites, kept off-limits to independent media, are guarded by private security contractors and located in zones where the Israeli military operates.
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire towards crowds of people going to receive aid.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
US aid contractors claim live ammo fired at Palestinians
The Israeli military says it has fired warning shots at people who have behaved in what they say is a suspicious manner.
It says its forces operate near the aid sites to stop supplies falling into the hands of militants.
Read more:
GHF aid distribution linked to increased deaths
Gaza situation ‘apocalyptic’, says UN expert
After the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach the aid hubs, the United Nations has called the GHF’s aid model “inherently unsafe” and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
In response, a GHF spokesperson told the Reuters news agency: “The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to UN convoys.”
The GHF says it has delivered more than 70 million meals to Gazans in five weeks and claims other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted” by Hamas or criminal gangs.
Ten children and two women are among at least 15 killed in an airstrike near a Gaza health clinic, according to an aid organisation.
Project Hope said it happened this morning near Altayara Junction, in Deir al Balah, as patients waited for the clinic to open.
The organisation’s president called it a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and a stark reminder that no one and no place is safe in Gaza“.
“No child waiting for food and medicine should face the risk of being bombed,” added the group’s project manager, Dr Mithqal Abutaha.
“It was a horrific scene. People had to come seeking health and support, instead they faced death.”
Operations at the clinic – which provides a range of health and maternity services – have been suspended.
Some of the children were reportedly waiting to receive nutritional supplements, necessary due to the dire shortage of food being allowed into Gaza.
Israel‘s military is investigating and said it was targeting a militant who took part in the 7 October terror attack.
“The IDF [Israel Defence Force] regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible,” added.
The deaths come as an agreement over a 60-day truce hangs in the balance – with President Trump cautiously saying it could happen “this week, or next week”.
Elsewhere in Gaza, the Nasser Hospital reported another 21 deaths in airstrikes in Khan Younis and in the nearby coastal area of Muwasi.
It said three children and their mother were among the dead.
Israel said its troops have been dismantling more than 130 Hamas infrastructure sites in Khan Younis over the past week, including missile launch sites, weapons storage facilities and a 500m tunnel.
On Wednesday, a soldier was shot dead when militants burst out of a tunnel and tried to abduct him, the military added.
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Do Trump and Netanyahu really get along?
Eighteen soldiers have been killed in the past three weeks – one of the deadliest periods for the Israeli army in months.
A 22-year-old Israeli man was also killed on Thursday by two attackers in a supermarket in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said the Magen David Adom emergency service.
People on site reportedly shot and killed the attackers but information on their identity has so far not been released.
Read more:
IDF chief says conditions ‘created’ for Gaza ceasefire
What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal ?
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Lack of food and water ‘lethal’ for Gaza children
Negotiations over a proposed 60-day ceasefire are ongoing and President Trump reportedly put “heavy” pressure on Israel’s leader, who visited the US this week.
A major sticking point is said to be the status of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire and beyond, should it last longer.
However, Sky News understands the Israeli government thinks the chances of a permanent truce are “questionable”.
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More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war – more than half are women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health ministry.
Its figure does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
The war began in October 2023 after Hamas killed around 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 251 others.
Some of them remain In Gaza and are a crucial part of ceasefire negotiations, which also include a planned surge in humanitarian aid into the strip.
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