ITALIAN GOVERNMENT CLOSE TO GETTING NEW MOB BOSS

Trapani, Sicily--

In the last two days the Italian government has stepped up it's game in it's investigations into La Cosa Nostra in Sicily.  In the last few months we have seen dozens of arrests as Italy moves forward in trying to eradicate the mafia.

Operation "Year Zero," has been underway for months, and just recently led to 22 arrests in the surrounding towns of Trapani, which has long been a mafia powerhouse. Since Toto Riina died, the Italian government has long been searching for the new boss and they believe they are finally nipping at the heels of that man.  His name?  Matteo Messina Denaro.  Who?  Don't worry we got you covered.

Matteo Messina Denaro is the new head of the Sicilian mafia. He was born into the Denaro crime family.  His father Francesco Denaro started his career into the mafia as a soldier for D'Ali crime family.  Matteo Messina Denaro has been on the lam since 1993, and until recently the Italian government wasn't sure how Denaro was communicating with his underlings.  However a slew of "pizzini's" or paper notes were found on a remote farm, where Matteo was leaving communications or orders for his underlings.

After his father Francesco died in 1998,  Matteo was promoted to capo, running the surrounding areas of Casteltravano and neighboring cities, while Vincenzo Virga ran the city of Trapani and a few surrounding cities.  In 2001 Virga was arrested and Denaro took over complete control of Trapani.  It is said that he controlled 900 men and reorganized the entire structure of the mafia in Trapani, bringing the 20 mafia families in Trapani together under one umbrella.  It was an incredibly ballsy and move designed to be the strongest force in Italy.

Denaro would then consolidate his power, by controlling construction rackets, protection rackets, as well as allegedly being involved in the drug trade with the Cuntrera-Caruana mafia family. He allegedly has ties to New York, and has business interests in Venezuela, and with Colombian drug cartels as well as a working relationship with N'drangheta.  He also has interests in Germany and Belgium.

Back in January of 2010 the Italian government seized villas, cars, and construction companies worth an estimated $600 million dollars from Sicilian construction magnet Rosario Cascio who is allegedly the bank roller for Denaro.  Following that, $800 million in assets were taken from Giuseppe Gregoli, then $200 million from Francesco Precora who is a construction tycoon.  All three have deep associations with Denaro.   It showed the Italian government just how far and wide Denaro's associations and pockets were.  Then $1.5 billion was seized by the Italian government from Vito Nicastri, who allegedly is in a partnership with Denaro.

The one thing the Italian government has done is follow a system in which they follow the money trail which has proven to be more successful then trying to rely on witnesses and informants.  It has made life tough for the 55 year old mob boss.

"Year Zero," has seen the arrest of close allies to Denaro, including his brothers in law, Gaspare Como and Rosario Allegra who are widely believed to be "street bosses," or "front bosses," for Denaro.  It's not just the money trail that the government has seized.  They also have two wiretaps.

On one wiretap, one of the alleged arrested was caught discussing the 1996 kidnapping and murder and the dissolving in acid death of Santino Di Matteo, who was the son of mob turncoat Giuseppe Di Matteo.  It was a message sent to Giuseppe to keep his mouth shut.   The second wiretap is a meeting between Denaro and his father Francesco boasting that Italy ought to "erect statues," of the two in Italy for all the good work they have done.

The Italian government has long sought after Denaro for his alleged role in the bombing assassination of judicial magistrates in the 90's.   These arrests are meant to draw Denaro out into the public as he has not been seen in public since 1993. Back in December Italian authorities, 200 police officers, executed search warrants on some 30 properties owned by alleged mafiosi looking for Denaro.

Where Denaro gets his reputation as his nickname suggests(Diabolic) is because not only did he kill rival mob boss Vincenzo Milazzo, but he strangled Milazzo's pregnant girlfriend.  According the the Italian police, he is estimated to have killed at least 50 people, and once bragged that they could "fill a fucking cemetery with all the murders he committed."

Italian authorities are trying to get a lock on Denaro, and continue to seize assets and those closest to him, but perhaps truly the only way the government can nail Denaro, is by finding a cooperating witness, but that comes at a high price as history has shown that in Italy they have no compunction about killing police, politicians or women and children to drive a point home.  It's not a matter of finding Denaro as much as it will be the price many people pay for that investigation as Denaro's arms are wide and far stretching, but the Italian police are fed up with the mafia in Italy and will stop at nothing trying to eradicate them.