Mafia ‘boss of bosses’ Toto Riina dies after murderous career at the helm of Sicilian underworld
In July he asked to be released from prison on the grounds of serious illness, but was denied after being caught on a wiretap saying he ‘regrets nothing’
Former “boss of bosses” Toto Riina, one of the most feared godfathers in the history of the Sicilian mafia, died early on Friday after battling cancer, Italian media reported.
Riina, who had been serving 26 life sentences and is thought to have ordered more than 150 murders, had been in a medically-induced coma after his health deteriorated following two operations.
The mobster, who turned 87 on Thursday, died in the prisoners’ wing of a hospital in Parma in northern Italy just before 4am, according to the country’s main dailies and ANSA news agency.
The hospital would not immediately confirm his death.
His wife and three of his four children had been given permission by Italy’s health ministry on Thursday for a rare visit to say goodbye.
They’ll never break me, even if they give me 3,000 years