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Mafia boss refused jail release for cancer treatment

An Italian court on Wednesday denied jailed mafia boss Salvatore "Toto" Riina's request that he be released from prison because he is seriously ill.

Published: 20 July 2017 08:37 CEST

Mafia boss refused jail release for cancer treatment

Policemen and soldiers stand guard outside the Italian national Anti-mafia services in 2015. Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

The court, in the northern city of Bologna, ruled that the former “boss of bosses” of Sicily's Cosa Nostra, could not get better treatment outside of jail.

“Toto” Riina, 86, nicknamed “The Beast” because of his cruelty, has been serving a life sentence since 1993. He is thought to have ordered more than 150 murders.

He is also thought to have been behind the assassinations of the anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino in 1992.

But he is now being treated at the prison hospital in Parma for kidney cancer and a heart condition. He had asked for his sentence to be suspended or be placed under house arrest.

Already last year the court had rejected a similar request by Riina's lawyers. It said Riina was still dangerous, noting that he had never disassociated himself from the Cosa Nostra and that there was a risk he could
re-offend.

But the country's supreme court sent the case back to Bologna in a ruling last month.

Wednesday's ruling also ordered the seizure of a villa, plots of land and three businesses it said were fraudulently owned by Riina and his family. The assets were worth an estimated 1.5 million euros ($1.7 million).

It was the assassinations of Falcone and Borsellino in separate attacks 25 years ago that galvanized the state into tackling organized crime in Italy.

That led to the 2006 arrest of Bernardo Provenzano, the leader of the Cosa Nostra, after 40 years on the run. He died in prison in 2016.

READ MORE: How the brutal murder of an anti-mafia hero changed Sicily

'We are desperate': Why the UK must help Britons with Italian healthcare charges

Pat Eggleton, a teacher and writer from the UK, appealed to the UK’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron in the letter sent April 9th about the “desperate” situation faced by UK citizens entitled to free healthcare in Italy – but unable to access it.

British nationals residing in Italy before Brexit, and covered by the Withdrawal Agreement (WA), are in many cases being told by Italian health authorities that they must pay steep new fees at a minimum of €2,000 a year – even though they are exempt from paying at all.

READ ALSO: ‘Life or death situation’: Brits facing high Italian healthcare costs amid rule change uncertainty

In her open letter seen by The Local, Ms. Eggleton, who has lived in Italy since 2005, highlighted that the current minimum is a huge jump from the previous €387, and said that the sum was “difficult, or even impossible, for some to find when there had been no prior notification and there is no option to pay in instalments.”

“A great deal of undeserved worry, frustration and even fear has ensued,” she wrote.

“Some of our group have serious, ongoing health conditions. All we require is for one sentence from the Italian government confirming that Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries do not have to pay for healthcare access to be circulated to all regional health authorities.

“We implore you to act before this becomes even more serious. As someone put it, “This is a matter not only of money, but of health.”

Ms Eggleton’s letter came exactly one month after the British government confirmed that all WA agreement beneficiaries are exempt from paying the €2,000 fee, provided they were living in Italy before January 1st 2021.

But there were no details available at the time from the Italian government setting out how the rules would be implemented or communicated to local health authorities around Italy.

Since then, there has been no further information released by the Italian government on any official platform.

One Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary, Graham Beresford, told The Local last week how he was having trouble accessing healthcare, even though he has a right to it.

Mr. Beresford suffers from blood cancer and needs access to the Italian healthcare system to obtain his medication.

“Every time I go to my ASL (local health unit) office, I always feel like I’m dismissed,” Graham said. “I told the ASL worker I need medication for my cancer and she replied lots of people come in here with sob stories.

“There genuinely seems to be no compassion whatsoever.”

The Local has written to the Italian health ministry for comment.

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