Brother of slain policeman's widow arrested on Mafia charges

(ANSA) - Palermo, February 18 - The brother of Rosaria Costa, the widow of a member of anti-Mafia prosecutor Giovanni Falcone's security detail who was slain with the magistrate in 1992, has been arrested in Palermo over his alleged links to the Arenella Cosa Nostra clan.
    Giuseppe Costa, 53, officially a carpenter, was arrested on Tuesday on charges that he operated for the Mafia clan, collecting 'pizzo' - or protection money - on behalf of the organization and assisting the relatives of detained operatives.
    The man was arrested with alleged boss Gaetano Scotto as part of an operation carried out by DDA anti-mafia investigators against the clan.
    Costa's sister Rosaria, who moved from Sicily to Tuscany after her husband's death, is the widow of Vito Schifani.
    Schifani was one of three policemen who worked as the security detail of magistrate Giovanni Falcone and his wife Francesca Morvillo who were all killed by Cosa Nostra in a bomb attack on May 23, 1992.
    The woman made headlines at the victims' funeral when she demanded justice and directly addressed Mafia operatives saying she was ready to forgive them if they "knelt down".
    "I address the men of the Mafia, because they are here", she told the gathering in Palermo's cathedral.
    "You must know that there is a possibility of forgiveness for you too - I forgive you, but you have to get down on your knees".