Sicilian Mafia boss jailed for three months

Sicilian Mafia boss Sebastiano Brunno has been jailed for three months after he was found guilty of using falsified documents while in Malta.

Brunno, 56, of Siracusa, Sicily, was also convicted of being in possession of a fake Italian identity card. The court heard that Brunno – who is known as the head of the Nardo Cosca, a branch of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra – used the name of Natale La Modica to conceal his identity.

Moreover, the court heard that the ID card in question had the accused’s photo but the details did not correspond.

Brunno is wanted in Italy to serve a life sentence after being found guilty of murder, attempted murder and possession of weapons in the 1990s.

Brunno is currently the subject of an extradition order after the Catania authorities had written to their Maltese counterparts about Brunno’s convictins and possible presence in Malta.

Last week, a court turned down the defence’s request to declare the proceedings of Brunno’s extradition order null, after it declared that even though there may have been mistakes in some documents, Brunno was nevertheless convicted in Italy for murder and possession of weapons.

The Sicilian Mafia boss was arrested by Maltese police on October 2 in an apartment in Bugibba – five years after the Sicilian police launched a manhunt for him. He had been a fugitive since 2009 and a European Arrest Warrant had been issued on July 22 after Catania authorities had written to their Maltese counterparts about Brunno’s convictions and possible presence in Malta.

Maltese police had been notified of Brunno’s possible presence in July before swooping in on his apartment.

The arrest followed an international investigation coordinated by the Catania anti-Mafia unit and the Maltese police.

Police Inspector Mario Cuschieri prosecuted.