Provenzano: Hunt ends

Palermo (Sicily), April 11 (Reuters): Bernardo Provenzano, the undisputed chief of the Sicilian Mafia who had been on the run for more than four decades, was arrested today while hiding in a farmhouse near Corleone in Sicily.

“Thank God. The hunt is finally over,” said Palermo police chief Giuseppe Caruso after agents seized Italy’s most wanted man, scoring the state’s biggest success against the Mafia in more than 13 years.

National anti-Mafia prosecutor Pietro Grasso accused businessmen, politicians and other professionals of shielding Provenzano for many years, but did not elaborate.

Provenzano, known as the “Phantom of Corleone” after his native hill town, made famous by the Godfather films, has been running the Mafia since former “boss of bosses” Toto Riina was arrested in 1993.

He was arrested when some 50 policemen swooped on a farmhouse in the countryside near Corleone. Police said their lucky break came when they tracked a package that had been sent to Provenzano by his wife, who lived in Corleone.

Provenzano, who put up no resistance and acknowledged his identity after first denying it, appeared surprised to be caught, police said. He was flown to Palermo and taken to the main police station there. Roads leading from the airport into town were closed to traffic.

An angry crowd shouted “Assassin” and “Bastard” at Provenzano as policemen wearing black balaclavas escorted him into the building.

“We are the real Sicily,” chanted an angry group of youths from an anti-Mafia association.