Italian police target dozens in anti-mafia crackdown
Italian police were today carrying out scores of arrests of alleged mobsters in Sicily, including what news reports said were top bosses who had been in touch with Bernardo Provenzano, the reputed No. 1 boss who was arrested earlier this year.
Police in Palermo, Sicily, confirmed reports that arrests were being carried out, but refused to provide further details because the operation was still under way. The ANSA news agency said the police were looking to arrest 52 people.
ANSA said that some of the suspects had been in touch with Provenzano through his “pizzini,” or notes about the administration of Cosa Nostra affairs delivered by Provenzano’s lieutenants. The notes were written in code to conceal the identities of those he dealt with.
Provenzano was arrested in April after more than 40 years on the run.
