Giovanni Brusca, the Sicilian
mafia boss who set off the explosive that killed anti-Mafia
prosecutor Giovanni Falcone in 1992, has asked to be released
from jail to house arrest, the Corriere della Sera newspaper
reported Monday.
The supreme Court of Cassation held a hearing on the request
on Monday morning.
A verdict is expected Tuesday.
Falcone's sister said Brusca did not deserve further benefits
after "receiving over 80 permits" in exchange for supplying
police with information on the Mob.
She said he had never shown real evidence of having turned
over a new leaf and repented for his crimes, which included
strangling and dissolving in acid a 15-year-old boy, Giuseppe Di
Matteo, who was the son of a mafia informant.
"His criminal past, the ferocity and pitilessness of his
behaviour and his controversial record as a state's witness,
which has had light and shade, make him still an ambiguous
figure, and not deserving of further benefits," she said.
Former interior minister and nationalist League party leader
Matteo Salvini said it would be "inhuman" if Brusca were
released to house arrest.
Brusca has already seen two previous pleas to leave jail
turned down.
Brusca was arrested in May 1996 and sentenced to life was
over 100 murders including that of Falcone, his wife Francesca
MOrvillo and three police escorts in May 1992.
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