By Alvise Armellini ROME (Reuters) -Matteo Messina Denaro, a brutal Sicilian Mafia boss who was Italy's most wanted criminal before his capture last week,
Messina Denaro held sway in his home province of Trapani in western Sicily, but Palermo Chief Prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia said he never became the "sole" leader of Cosa Nostra. Part of the reason, de Lucia explained, is that under Mafia tradition the so-called "boss of bosses" position is only for mobsters from the area around the Sicilian capital Palermo.
Matteo Messina Denaro, a brutal Sicilian Mafia boss who was Italy s most wanted criminal before his capture on Monday, had been on the run for 30 years.
Part of the reason, de Lucia explained, is that under Mafia tradition the so-called "boss of bosses" position is only for mobsters from the area around the Sicilian capital Palermo. Previous supremos were Salvatore "Toto" Riina and Bernardo Provenzano, who spent decades on the run before their arrest.