Mafia boss Riina close to death

(ANSA) - Palermo, November 16 - Cosa Nostra boss of bosses Totò Riina is close to death, sources said on Thursday. The Mafia chief, who turned 87 Thursday, has been in a coma for days in ward for inmates at Parma hospital after two operations. He has been badly ill for some time.
    Riina was arrested in January 1993 after 24 years as a fugitive. Nicknamed The Beast for his ferocity, he is serving life for a slew of crimes including the assassinations of anti-Mafia magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino 25 years ago.
    Another infamous assassination was that of Carabinieri General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, who had recently appointed prefect of Palermo, in 1982.
    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.
    As a result, Riina stayed under the hard 41bis jail regime at a special section for prisoners of the Parma hospital.
    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.