Alleged mafia hitman acquitted of murder

(ANSA) - Palermo, June 30 - A Palermo appeals court acquitted Cosa Nostra Mafia gangster Antonino Madonia of murder charges in the 1981 death of a doctor. Prosecutor Vittorio Teresi had requested a life sentence for Madonia for the November 6, 1981 assassination of Sebastiano Bosio, chief of vascular surgery at Palermo's Civic Hospital.
    Antonino Madonia is the oldest son of convicted Cosa Nostra crime boss Francesco Madonia, who investigators believe was a major ally of the Corleonesi clan and once ruled over the Resuttana neighborhood of Palermo. Investigators also believe Antonino served on a team of hitmen assembled by the Corleonesi's ruthless, powerful top boss in the 1980s, Toto' Riina. Prosecutor Teresi in his indictment cited a long list of "penitent" law informants who had fingered Madonia as Bosio's murderer. One witness alleged Bosio was killed for opposing public bid candidates supported by Salvatore Lima, a politician assassinated in 1992 accused of mafia links.
    "All mafia in the area was interested in bids both for construction and the supply of medical machinery and tools," said businessman turned mafia informant Massimo Ciancimino, who claimed to learn the motive for the crime from his father.
    Other witnesses claimed Bosio was killed for poor medical treatment to a mafia gangster who suffered a gunshot wound to the foot.
    "It was amputated. According to the mafiosi, there was no need to amputate it," said law informer Francesco Di Carlo.
    "The doctor did it because he was against Cosa Nostra," Di Carlo added. The trial against Madonia for Bosio's murder began in 2011 after investigators found through a forensic examination that the bullets that killed Bosio were fired from a gun consistent with the 38 caliber pistol used seven months later to kill two mechanics - a double murder for which Madonia was convicted.