Mafia boss of bosses Totò
Riina died at 3:37 on Friday in a special section for inmates at
Parma hospital.
He had turned 87 on Thursday.
Riina, who was still considered head of Cosa Nostra despite
spending 24 years under the 41 bis tough jail regime, had been
in a coma since the second of two recent operations and had been
badly ill for a long time.
Justice Minister Andrea Orlando had given the OK for Riina's
children to visit him on his death bed, but they did not make it
in time before he passed away.
Nicknamed The Beast for his ferocity, he was serving life for
a slew of crimes including the assassinations of anti-Mafia
magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino 25 years ago.
Other infamous assassinations were those of Carabinieri
General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, who had recently appointed
prefect of Palermo, in 1982; and of Sicilian Governor Piersanti
Mattarella, the brother of Italian President Sergio Mattarella,
in 1980.
In July a Bologna court rejected a petition from Riina's
lawyers for his punishment to be deferred and a related request
for him to be released to house arrest due to his poor health.
In June the supreme Court of Cassation said Riina was
entitled to a dignified death and instructed a detention review
court to say whether he should be freed, sparking protests from
the relatives of his many victims.
After visiting him, the chair of the parliamentary anti-mafia
commission, Rosy Bindi, said his conditions were better than
they would be if he were sent home.
Riina was arrested in January 1993 after 24 years as a
fugitive.
Many institutional figures warned against dropping the guard
against the Mafia following his death.
Cosa Nostra is still a big threat, Bindi said Friday.
"The end of Riina is not the end of the Sicilian Mafia, which
remains a highly dangerous criminal system," said Bindi.
"Totò Riina was the bloody, undisputed leader of the Cosa
Nostra that staged bombings.
"That Mafia was defeated before his death thanks to the tough
commitment of the institutions and the sacrifice of so many
courageous, just men".
The Italian Bishops Conference (CEI) on Friday ruled out the
possibility of a public funeral being held for Riina.
"A public funeral is unthinkable," said CEI Spokesman Father
Ivan Maffeis.
"I remind everyone that the pope has excommunicated the
mafiosi.
"The condemnation of the Italian Church regarding this
phenomenon is unequivocal.
"The Church does not substitute the judgment of God, but we
cannot confuse consciences".
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