"We have captured the last person responsible for the 1992-93 massacres and we are particularly proud of the work completed today, which concludes a long and very delicate effort".
Thus the prosecutor of Palermo Maurizio de Lucia in the press conference organized by the investigators after the arrest of Matteo Messina Denaro, the superboss of Cosa Nostra who has been on the run for 30 years and stopped right in Palermo, on his way to an oncological visit in a private clinic.
"It is a debt that the Republic owed to the victims of the mafia - added de Lucia - which we have partially paid".
"Capturing a dangerous fugitive without resorting to violence and without handcuffs is an important sign for a democratic country", underlined the Palermo prosecutor, expressing "my thanks to my colleague Paolo Guido who masterfully carried out the investigation and my affection and recognition to the Arma and to the Ros that we have seen working tirelessly ».
The arrest of the superboss, said Pasquale Angelosanto , commander of the Ros, "is the result of a collective work that has taken place over time , which has been based on the sacrifice of the carabinieri over many years. The last period, those of the Christmas holidays, our people spent in the offices working and putting together the elements that every day were enriched more and more and were communicated. The prosecutor's office was also open on the day before, it was a concerted effort ».
No tip -offs, the investigators specified, but the investigations were conducted with the traditional method, "that of General Dalla Chiesa".
«The Mafia – underlined the prosecutor de Lucia again – is not defeated and the biggest mistake is to think that the game is over».
"We found a well-groomed 60-year-old man, in line with the profile of an average user of an excellent clinic, in good condition despite the problems he had had," the investigators explained. Furthermore and the support he enjoyed from the network that has always supported him".
