‘Last godfather’ Matteo Messina Denaro arrested after decades in hiding

Sicilian mafia boss was apprehended as he came out of the private health facility on outskirts of Palermo after tipoff

An Italian mob boss regarded as the last godfather of the Sicilian mafia was arrested after investigators received a tipoff that one of the world’s most-wanted criminals had been receiving medical treatment for a tumour at a well-known clinic in in Palermo, police sources have said.

Matteo Messina Denaro, 60, who has been in hiding since 1993, was apprehended as he came out of the private La Maddalena health facility on the outskirts of the Sicilian city, where special forces had been on guard since authorities first learned of his whereabouts three days ago.