30 years ago, this mafia boss dissolved a 12-year-old's body in acid; he was just arrested seeking cancer treatment

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In 1993, he organized bomb “attacks in Florence, Rome and Milan that killed 10 people.” In the same year, he kidnapped a 12-year-old boy, held him hostage for two years before having him strangled and his body dissolved in acid. Matteo Messina Denaro, also known as Diabolik" and "'U Siccu" (The Skinny One) had been on the run from Italian authorities for the last 30 years.

In 1993, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the 1992 murder of anti-mafia prosecutors that caused national uproar and sparked a crackdown on Cosa Nostra. Italy's most wanted mafia boss was arrested in Sicily where he was receiving cancer treatment at a private hospital under an assumed name.

Locals applauded the news and we're seen shaking hands with the masked police who apprehended him. The Italian prime minister traveled to Sicily to congratulate police chiefs for the arrest. She was quoted saying, “We have not won the war, we have not defeated the mafia but this battle was a key battle to win, and it is a heavy blow to organized crime.”

His arrest comes 30 years after Salvatore "Toto" Riina, dubbed as “Sicilian Mafia's most powerful boss of the 20th century” was captured. True to Mafia's tradition, Riina died in jail in 2017 having never broken his code of silence. Personally, the story is interesting because it broke a few days after I had binge-watched part 1 and 2 of the The Godfather franchise. Now I've been poked to watch part 3! Of course I'm happy that Diabolik’s victims and their families will hopefully get some sort of justice.

Disclaimer: This article was written for educational and informational purposes only.

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