Mafia boss Sebastiano Brunno to be extradited

Sicilian Mafia boss Sebastiano Brunno will be extradited to Italy to serve a life sentence after a court upheld an extradition order.

Brunno, who is currently serving a three-month jail term after being found convicted of the possession of a fake Italian identity card in Malta, has been the subject of an extradition order since being apprehended during a joint operation between Maltese and Italian police on 2 October.

Upholding the extradition order, Magistrate Aaron Bugeja said Brunno will be extradited once he serves his prison sentence. Moreover, he also said that Brunno has a right to file an appeal.

Flanked by a translator, Brunno – known as the head of of the Nardo Cosca, a branch of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra - sat patiently as the magistrate read out his judgment.

During previous sittings, Magistrate Bugeja turned down the defence’s request to declare the proceedings of Brunno’s extradition order null, after he declared that even though there may have been mistakes in some documents, the Sicilian was nevertheless wanted in Italy to serve a life sentence after being found guilty of murder, attempted murder and possession of weapons in the 1990s.

Echoing his previous declarations, Magistrate Bugeja this afternoon underlined that Brunno’s criminal convictions are sufficient for an extradition order to be upheld.

He also explained that it was sufficiently proven that Brunno was convicted by the Italian courts, of being present when the sentence was handed down, and of being a fugitive.

The Sicilian Mafia boss was arrested by Maltese police on 2 October 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 22 July 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.

Lawyers Roberto Montalto and Michaela Spiteri appeared for the accused, while Deputy Attorney General Donatella Frendo Dimech and Inspector Mario Cuschieri led the prosecution.