03/03/2026, 07:2803/03/2026, 07:28
One of Italy’s most notorious mafia bosses has died in prison after serving more than 30 years. Benedetto “Nitto” Santapaola died at the age of 87 in a detention center in Milan, Italian media unanimously reported. Until his imprisonment in 1993, he was considered number two in the Sicilian Cosa Nostra. Santapaola was known for his ruthlessness, hence his nickname “Il Cacciatore” (in English: the hunter).
A recording by Benedetto Santapaola from 1995.Image: www.imago-images.de
He was a close ally of the Sicilian Mafia’s number one, Salvatore “Totò” Riina (1930-2017), and was one of the defining figures of the Cosa Nostra in the 1980s. At that time, it was shaken by a bloody power struggle. Investigators classified him as one of their strategic minds. He was also one of the people who ordered the murders of the two well-known anti-Mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino in 1992.
Imprisoned under extremely strict conditions for more than 30 years
In 1993 he was arrested after eleven years on the run. His arrest at the time was considered spectacular: a special unit surprised Santapaola sleeping in a farmhouse in the small community of Mazzarrone near Catania, where he primarily operated. The mafioso offered no resistance at the time, even though there was a revolver next to his bed.
Since his arrest in a high-security prison in the northern Italian metropolis of Milan, Santapaola has been serving several life sentences for murder and other crimes under extremely strict prison conditions. Italy provides this primarily for dangerous mafia bosses and terrorists. They are known as “41bis” – named after the section of the Prison Act. Santapaola died in that prison. (dab/sda/dpa)