Matteo Messina Denaro

Lore & Background

Matteo Messina Denaro was born in Castelvetrano, Sicily, the son of mafia boss Francesco Messina Denaro. He learned to use a gun at 14 and bragged, 'I filled a cemetery all by myself.' He made his reputation by murdering rival boss Vincenzo Milazzo and strangling Milazzo's three-month-pregnant girlfriend. After his father's death in 1998, Matteo became capo mandamento of Castelvetrano and surrounding areas, later taking over the Mafia in the province of Trapani. He was portrayed as a ruthless playboy mafioso, driving a Porsche, wearing Rolex and Armani, and was an ardent computer game player.

Reader's Guide

Messina Denaro's significance lies in his role as the last of the old-style Cosa Nostra bosses to be captured, after a 30-year manhunt. He was seen as the unchallenged boss of all bosses following the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017. His arrest in January 2023, while undergoing chemotherapy under a false name, marked a major victory for Italian anti-mafia efforts. His death in September 2023 ended an era of Mafia leadership that had terrorized Italy through bombings and murders. The article notes that his succession was not universally accepted, with some prosecutors describing the Mafia as more of a federation than an authoritarian state.

Did You Know?

• He was known as Diabolik, after the Italian comic book character.
• He received his first life sentence in absentia in 1999 for the murder of a rival boss and others.
• He used the pseudonym 'Alessio' in clandestine correspondence with former boss Bernardo Provenzano.