Salvatore «Toto» Riina, the most powerful boss of the Italian mafia — «Cosa Nostra» — died today, November 17, in a prison hospital in Parma. According to preliminary data, the death of 87-year-old Reiny came by natural causes, reports Reuters.
Riina served time in prison 26 life sentences for dozens of murders committed between 1969 and 1992. Among his victims — the Italian judge who led in those years, the fight against the mafia.
A few days ago by Salvatore Riina in a coma after complications during surgery. His family was allowed to be with him in recent days.
Born in the town of Corleone in Sicily, Riina started climbing the criminal career ladder in the postwar years, rapidly acquiring the nickname «the Beast» for his brutality. He became one of the bosses of Cosa Nostra, selling heroin to the Eastern United States and virtually controlling the political life in Palermo and Rome.
But because of the extreme violence of Riiny themselves gangsters began to break mutual responsibility and in 1980-1990 years of the twentieth testified against his boss judicial officers Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.
After some time, Falcone and Borsellino were blown up in their cars by order of Rainy, but in 1993, a mafia boss still managed to arrest.
Since he was serving a sentence in prison, but even there he refused to cooperate fully with investigators. Combating the mafia in Sicily had their results. And though the presence of Cosa Nostra still on the island, its economic and political influence waned.
After the arrest of Riina power in the group took his sons, Giovanni and Giuseppe. Later Giovanni was sentenced to life imprisonment for four murders. Giuseppe also spent several years in prison, but now he is free, as the daughter of Reini Maria Concetta and Lucia.
It was decided to hold the funeral of mafia boss in a private ceremony in his hometown of Corleone.
