Italy arrests alleged Mafia boss

The Italian police arrested Salvatore Lo Piccolo, said to be one of the most powerful bosses in the Sicilian Mafia. Lo Piccolo, his son Sandro and two associates were detained Monday near Palermo during a raid on an isolated villa outside of the town, the police said. Italy arrests alleged Mafia boss The four men were on Italy's 30-most-wanted list and were holding a meeting when their hideout was surrounded by about three dozen police officers, said Palermo's police chief, Giuseppe Caruso. They gave themselves up after the police fired warning shots. According to Caruso, Lo Piccolo, 65, took over the top post in Cosa Nostra after the arrest in April 2006 of the "boss of all bosses," Bernardo Provenzano. "It's an extraordinarily important result," Interior Minister Giuliano Amato said in a statement. "No organization can survive for long if we keep striking at its top ranks. This is what it means to not give the Mafia a break." No bloody war of succession followed the arrest of Provenzano 18 months ago, in an abandoned warehouse near his hometown of Corleone. Convicted of murder and on the run since 1983, Lo Piccolo quickly filled Provenzano's shoes, effectively rising to the top of the criminal organization. "When you control Palermo, you control the Mafia," said Caruso. Francesco Forgione, head of the parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission, said in an interview with the Corriere della Sera Web site that Lo Piccolo's hold on Sicily had been enforced through violence and deeply rooted ties with local businesses. "This shows how the Mafia is strong because it is intertwined with the economic and financial community," he said. The arrests Monday follow a series of raids and arrests over the past 18 months that have effectively crippled the Sicilian Mafia, Caruso said. "These four were the last on our list." Still on the run is another top mobster, Matteo Messina Denaro, 45, from the Trapani area, who some experts believe was vying with Lo Piccolo for control of Cosa Nostra. The other two mobsters arrested in the villa were Andrea Adamo and Gaspare Pulizzi, the alleged heads of two other Palermo area families. The four men did not put up any resistance, Caruso said. Also arrested were the owner of the villa where the meeting took place and another man. Caruso could not confirm news reports that Sandro Lo Piccolo, 32, screamed out "I love you, papa," as he was being led away in handcuffs.

Italy arrests alleged Mafia boss

The four men were on Italy's 30-most-wanted list and were holding a meeting when their hideout was surrounded by about three dozen police officers, said Palermo's police chief, Giuseppe Caruso. They gave themselves up after the police fired warning shots.

According to Caruso, Lo Piccolo, 65, took over the top post in Cosa Nostra after the arrest in April 2006 of the "boss of all bosses," Bernardo Provenzano.

"It's an extraordinarily important result," Interior Minister Giuliano Amato said in a statement. "No organization can survive for long if we keep striking at its top ranks. This is what it means to not give the Mafia a break."

No bloody war of succession followed the arrest of Provenzano 18 months ago, in an abandoned warehouse near his hometown of Corleone.

Convicted of murder and on the run since 1983, Lo Piccolo quickly filled Provenzano's shoes, effectively rising to the top of the criminal organization. "When you control Palermo, you control the Mafia," said Caruso.

Francesco Forgione, head of the parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission, said in an interview with the Corriere della Sera Web site that Lo Piccolo's hold on Sicily had been enforced through violence and deeply rooted ties with local businesses.

"This shows how the Mafia is strong because it is intertwined with the economic and financial community," he said.

The arrests Monday follow a series of raids and arrests over the past 18 months that have effectively crippled the Sicilian Mafia, Caruso said. "These four were the last on our list."

Still on the run is another top mobster, Matteo Messina Denaro, 45, from the Trapani area, who some experts believe was vying with Lo Piccolo for control of Cosa Nostra.

The other two mobsters arrested in the villa were Andrea Adamo and Gaspare Pulizzi, the alleged heads of two other Palermo area families. The four men did not put up any resistance, Caruso said. Also arrested were the owner of the villa where the meeting took place and another man.

Caruso could not confirm news reports that Sandro Lo Piccolo, 32, screamed out "I love you, papa," as he was being led away in handcuffs.