Friends of Ours

Italian Authorities Put The Financial Squeeze On Boss Of Bosses Matteo Messina Denaro

Matteo Messina Denaro, the so-called "boss of bosses" from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia, has been a wanted man since 1993, and his days on the run may be drawing to a close as authorities seize the wealth -- $3.8 billion since 2009 -- that props him up as reported by Tom Kington for the Los Angeles Times:  "investigators will not say whether they believe an arrest is imminent, but police have ramped up seizures of businesses they believe are fronting for Messina Denaro," and are hoping that he "could yet be betrayed by otherwise loyal entrepreneurs exasperated by the growing number of seizures of their bank accounts, properties and businesses."

U.S. law enforcement could take a page from Italy's anti-Mafia playbook by targeting the so-called legitimate businesses which front for and otherwise associate with the mob families.  Indeed, the Treasury Department should designate New York's five families as transnational criminal organizations under Executive Order 13581 which would freeze their U.S. assets and ban Americans from conducting business with them.  Inexplicably, the American authorities have ignored this powerful tool in going after the Italian mob and left its economic infrastructure in place.

Further reading that may be of interest:

A Call For U.S. Treasury Department To Designate Gambino Crime Family As A Transnational Criminal Organization Under Executive Order 13581

Treasury Department Targets Latino Gang; Continues To Ignore Italian Mob

Police Raid Targets Palermo Bosses

The command structure of the Mafia clans which operate in Sicily's capital city of Palermo has been wiped out with 21 arrests as reported by ANSA:  "assets worth some 30 million euros were seized in an operation police said showed Cosa Nostra was 'returning in a significant way' to the drugs trade from South America."

In its annual report to parliament Italy's secret services says that Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia "is in the midst of a power struggle" as reported by ANSA:  "times seem to be hard for most Mafia bosses, says the report which highlights the 'precariousness of the relationship between the components of the various (factions) of the Sicilian Mafia.'"

Last year Italy's chief anti-Mafia prosecutor Pietro Grasso said that since the 2006 apprehension of Bernardo Provenzano the Sicilian Mafia has been without a "boss of bosses," and "top leadership is all in jail" as reported by Adnkronos.  Although some believe that reputed clan boss Matteo Messina Denaro stepped into the "boss of bosses" role to oversee all the clans "Grasso said that was not the case" as reported by ANSA.  Denaro is a clan boss who has been on the run since 1993, and Grasso believes he's still in Sicily.

In 2011 Italian authorities arrested 36 people on a variety of charges including Mafia conspiracy involving an alleged attempt to reconstitute a governing committee or "dome" over the Cosa Nostra clans as reported by Reuters Italia.

Father-And-Son Team Lose Companies Over Suspected Ties To Sicilian Boss

Italian authorities have seized six companies worth 30 million euros ($40 million) from Francesco Morici and his son Vincenzo Morici who allegedly have ties to fugitive boss Matteo Messina Denaro from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia as reported by ANSA:  "the companies are allegedly linked to rigged bids that gave them construction contracts between 2001 and 2005 at the port of Trapani in western Sicily, to boost tourism."

Report: Mob Boss Orders Hit On Italian Prosecutor

Fugitive mob boss Matteo Messina Denaro has ordered a hit against an Italian prosecutor who "is leading an investigation of police allegedly involved in the deaths of two Italian magistrates in 1992" as reported by UPI.

Magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino were killed in separate bomb attacks during the Sicilian Mafia's stragismo -- strategy of terror -- against the state in the early 1990s.

Denaro is wanted for, among other things, his role in murdering Giuseppe Di Matteo, the 13-year-old son of mobster-turned-informant Santino Di Matteo, who "was kept by abductors for nearly two years before being strangled and dissolved in acid in January 1996" as reported by ANSA.

Life Sentences Affirmed For 5 Cosa Nostra Mobsters Who Kidnapped And Murdered Little Boy

An Italian appellate court has affirmed the life sentences for five Sicilian mobsters, including fugitive boss Matteo Messina Denaro, for their roles in murdering Giuseppe Di Matteo, the 13-year-old son of mobster-turned-informant Santino Di Matteo, who "was kept by abductors for nearly two years before being strangled and dissolved in acid in January 1996" as reported by ANSA.

It's a myth that the mob respects children.

Query whether Kiddy network Nickleodeon will option the Giuseppe Di Matteo story now that it's entered the mob genre with Nicky Deuce.

Further reading that may be of interest:

Mafia Exploitation Of Kids:  Really A New Low?