Matteo Messina Denaro (26 April 1962 – 25 September 2023), also known as Diabolik, was a Sicilian Mafia boss.
After the natural death of his father in November 1998, Matteo became capo mandamento of the area including Castelvetrano and the neighbouring cities, while Vincenzo Virga ruled in the city of Trapani and its surroundings.
After bomb attacks that killed prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, the arrest of Salvatore Riina on 15 January 1993 and the introduction of a strict prison regime (article 41-bis), Cosa Nostra embarked on a terrorist campaign in which Matteo Messina Denaro played a prominent role.
On 16 January 2023, Messina Denaro was arrested in Sicily by Italian police, after being a fugitive since 1993.[1][2] His arrest came around 30 years after that of Riina, who was taken into custody on 15 January 1993, also in Palermo.[3]
On 24 September 2023, Messina Denaro fell into an irreversible coma while being treated in L'Aquila, Italy. He died in the early morning on 25 September 2023 from colon cancer at age 61.[4]
