The Independent/YouTubeMatteo Messina Denaro rose to become one of the most powerful Mafia bosses in Sicily all while on the run from the police.For nearly 30 years, Matteo Messina Denaro was Italys most wanted fugitive. The Sicilian Mafia boss was linked to murders, bombings, drug trafficking, extortion, and billions of dollars in criminal wealth. Denaro also played a role in one of the Cosa Nostras most horrifying crimes: the abduction and murder of 12-year-old Giuseppe Di Matteo, whose body was dissolved in acid after two years in captivity.Despite multiple life sentences handed down in absentia, Denaro remained free. While Italian authorities launched one of the largest manhunts in the countrys history, he continued directing Mafia operations from the shadows through a network of loyal associates.But when the police finally captured him on Jan. 16, 2023, Denaro wasnt hiding in a remote bunker: He was standing outside of a medical clinic in Palermo, where he was receiving cancer treatment under a false name.By then, Denaro had become one of the most powerful remaining leaders of the Cosa Nostra.How Matteo Messina Denaro Became A Mafia KillerMatteo Messina Denaro was born on April 26, 1962, in Castelvetrano, a town in western Sicily with deep ties to organized crime. Unlike many criminals who entered the Mafia later in life, Denaro was born into it.His father, Francesco Messina Denaro also known as Don Ciccio was a powerful Mafia boss who maintained close relationships with the Cosa Nostras top leaders. Violence was part of Denaros life from an early age. He reportedly learned how to use a gun at 14 and quickly developed a reputation for brutality.Italian PoliceMatteo Messina Denaro was purportedly committing murder by the time he was 18.By the late 1980s, he was a rising figure in the Corleonesi faction led by Mafia boss Salvatore Riina. As Riina expanded the Cosa Nostras influence through intimidation and murder, Denaro became known as one of the organizations most ruthless enforcers.As Denaros reputation for violence grew, so did his reputation for excess. Unlike older Mafia bosses who projected a quiet, traditional image, Denaro embraced a garish lifestyle. He was seen as a wealthy playboy with his luxury sports cars, designer clothing, and Rolex watches.But Denaro wasnt just a flashy figure. He once allegedly bragged that he had single-handedly killed enough people to fill a cemetery, and he earned the nickname Diabolik after the Italian comic book antihero.One of his earliest victims was rival Mafia boss Vincenzo Milazzo. Denaro also strangled Milazzos pregnant girlfriend, eliminating another potential threat to the organization.Brut/YouTubeGiuseppe Di Matteo was strangled and dissolved in acid after his father testified against the Cosa Nostra.But his most infamous crime involved a victim who was not an adversary. In 1993, Matteo Messina Denaro helped orchestrate the abduction of 12-year-old Giuseppe Di Matteo, the son of a former mafioso who had agreed to testify against the Cosa Nostra. The boy was held captive for more than two years before his kidnappers murdered him and dissolved his body in acid in an attempt to destroy evidence.These murders certainly put Denaro on the radar of the authorities, but it was his terrorist bombing campaign of 1993 that made him one of the most wanted men in Europe. The Bombings That Made Diabolik A Target Of The Italian StateBy the early 1990s, the Cosa Nostra had entered one of the bloodiest periods in its history. In 1992, Mafia assassins killed anti-Mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, two prosecutors who had spent years investigating Sicilys criminal underworld.When authorities arrested Salvatore Riina for the murders in January 1993, the Cosa Nostra responded with a campaign of terror. Denaro joined other Mafia leaders in planning a series of bombings designed to pressure the Italian government into weakening its anti-Mafia laws.Uffizi GalleryA car bomb planted by the Sicilian Mafia killed five people and damaged the Uffizi Gallery in Florence on May 27, 1993.The attacks targeted Florence, Milan, and Rome. The explosions killed 10 people, injured dozens more, and damaged historic sites, including parts of the Uffizi Gallery. But as the police linked Denaro to the crimes and closed in on him, he suddenly disappeared.Matteo Messina Denaro became a fugitive in the summer of 1993, marking the beginning of a 30-year manhunt. He hadnt completely vanished, though. Denaro was still pulling the strings of Sicilys Mafia from behind the scenes. How Matteo Messina Denaro Rose To Lead The Cosa NostraWhile Denaro was in hiding, his influence inside the Cosa Nostra continued to grow. After his father died in 1998, he took control of the Mafia stronghold around Castelvetrano and expanded his power throughout western Sicily.He reorganized local Mafia families and strengthened connections with criminal organizations beyond Italy. His network was linked to Colombian drug traffickers, the Calabrian Ndrangheta, and money-laundering operations across Europe.When the police arrested Mafia bosses Bernardo Provenzano in 2006 and Salvatore Lo Piccolo in 2007, Denaro emerged as one of the leading candidates to inherit control of the Cosa Nostra. But despite this power, he remained hidden. By 2010, Forbes ranked Matteo Messina Denaro among the worlds most powerful and dangerous fugitives.Denaro continued directing operations through handwritten notes known as pizzini though he never wrote them himself. Trusted couriers carried the messages between Denaro and his associates, allowing him to issue orders without using phones or electronic devices.Italian PoliceThe police had just a few photos of Matteo Messina Denaro in his youth to go by during their search, so they created age progression illustrations to depict what he might look like as an older man or disguised as a woman.During his years on the run, Denaro was not living like a desperate fugitive. He traveled under false identities, went to restaurants and soccer games, and even took international vacations, all while evading capture.Unable to find Denaro, Italian authorities instead targeted the empire that helped keep him hidden. The police seized millions of euros in assets connected to his organization, including supermarkets, construction companies, luxury properties, olive groves, and renewable energy businesses.These companies seemed legitimate, but they helped launder Mafia profits and provided financial support for Denaros criminal network. Authorities also arrested relatives, suspected couriers, and associates accused of concealing Denaro.This strategy slowly weakened the organization around him but the police still couldnt capture the criminal himself.The search for Denaro even led to a bizarre mix-up in 2021, when a British Formula One fan was arrested at a restaurant in the Netherlands after the police mistook him for the Mafia boss. The mans lawyer joked to the Telegraph, It would have been a genius of an Italian to have such a strong Liverpool accent.Two years later, however, the authorities finally tracked down the right man.The Capture That Ended A 30-Year ManhuntFor decades, investigators believed Denaro would eventually make a mistake. But in the end, it was not a rival Mafia boss or an informant who exposed him. It was cancer.Denaro was reportedly diagnosed with colon cancer around 2020, and in 2023, he was receiving chemotherapy under the false name Andrea Bonafede. After uncovering this alias, investigators traced Bonafede to a private medical clinic in Palermo.Italian Carabinieri Press OfficeItalian authorities captured Matteo Messina Denaro on Jan. 16, 2023, ending the 30-year manhunt for the Cosa Nostra boss.On Jan. 16, 2023, more than 100 Carabinieri officers surrounded the office before Denaro arrived for treatment. Almost exactly 30 years after the arrest of Salvatore Riina, Italys most wanted Mafia boss was finally in custody.Denaro surrendered without a fight. As reported by The Guardian at the time, when the police asked him if he was Matteo Messina Denaro, he responded, You know who I am. The 60-year-old fugitive was escorted away as patients and medical staff gathered to watch the end of one of the longest manhunts in Italian history.Some of these witnesses may have known exactly who Denaro was all along. For decades, normal citizens had helped conceal his identity simply by pretending they had no idea that he was one of the most wanted men in Europe. He was hiding in plain sight, criminologist Federico Varese told The Guardian in 2023. [T]here was no help from local informants because of a deep mistrust of people in this part of Italy towards institutions of the state.Denaro also refused to become an informant, but he didnt have to resist police questioning for long. His death from cancer on Sept. 25, 2023, marked the end of Sicilys Godfather Mafia era and ushered in a new, more covert age for the criminal organization.After reading about the life and crimes of Matteo Messina Denaro, learn about the code of omert that once defined the Mafia. Then, look through Letizia Battaglias revealing photos of the Sicilian Mafia.The post Matteo Messina Denaro, The Sicilian Mafia Boss Who Strangled A Pregnant Woman And Tortured A 12-Year-Old appeared first on All That's Interesting.