Sicily's anti-Mafia police have scored a major strike with the arrest this morning of Salvatore Lo Piccolo, aka 'Il Barone' (the Baron), believed to be the supreme boss of the Cosa Nostra.
On the run since 1983, the 64-year-old mobster (right) was pulled in with another dozen bosses and henchmen, including his son Sandro, 32, believed to be his bagman for collecting protection money. They were arrested in two smart apartments in Giardinello, just inland from Palermo airport.
There was a short gunfight, and as he was cuffed Sandro (pictured overleaf) yelled: "I love you, papa." Police say they found eight heavy-calibre pistols in a suitcase.
The arrest comes 18 months after the previous Godfather, Bernardo Provenzano, aka 'the Tractor', was arrested in a peasant's shack outside Corleone. |
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The supreme boss of
the Cosa Nostra has been caught by police. robert fox reports |
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Anti-Mafia magistrates are sure that Lo Piccolo succeeded Provenzano as head of the 'Commission' that regulates the Sicilian Mafia families - always known as la Cosa Nostra.
Lo Piccolo had made a fortune from drugs and public works contracts, traditional Mafia areas of business. In the Zen suburb of Palermo, his men even persuaded residents to pay them protection money to keep the lights on at night in the corridors in the rundown apartment blocks.
Lo Piccolo's main rival has been Antonio Rotolo. Both had been designated deputies by Provenzano during his reign - but they have been bitter rivals. Rotolo was picked up in the round-up that followed the arrest of Provenzano. He is said to have been annoyed by news that Lo Piccolo was thinking of allowing the old Inzerillo mob back into Palermo.
Among those pulled in today with 
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The end for the Godfathers
The pizza parlour that won't feed the Mafia
Sicilian mafioso behind bars, at last
