Messina Denaro: travels to Montenegro, casinos, business, and fishing in Tunisia. In Sicily over the past two years.

The beginning of summer 2017: listening in on the boss during his secrecy reveals his movements and interests while on the run.

Microphones are recording conversations of the capomafia from Partanna, a town in the province of Trapani. "… he says he was in Calabria and has returned ..." - says one of his most trusted associates.

They are talking about "Matteo," this Matteo Messina Denaro, who will be arrested in five and a half years. Then there is the sound of a paper sheet. They read the note from the fugitive, who planned meetings after returning from Calabria: "... go there, and the Christians will go too...". Then there is a mention of "his sister, his sister... here... in the note it says... see? He writes that he has decided...".

This is why Andrea Bonafede became the boss's proxy: childhood friendship, threats, and reverence.

Today, just like yesterday, Calabria is once again coming back to life for Matteo Messina Denaro. The boss of the mafia, who was arrested on January 16 in Palermo, traveled extensively in Italy and abroad for business and pleasure.

Through the study of the documentation found in the shelter in Campobello di Mazara, a reconstruction of the life of this capomafia from Trapani is being carried out.

Everything changed after the cancer: he began receiving treatment in Sicily, lowering his level of protection. The connection between the mafia clans of Trapani and the Calabrian 'ndrangheta is exceptionally ancient. This connection is based on the drug business. It is possible that Messina Denaro visited Calabria to develop the drug trade, which provided him with significant income that he spent during his time in hiding.

In the shelter on San Vito Street in Campobello di Mazara, there is a boss's ledger that is regularly updated, and expenses reach up to 15,000 euros per month.

The ROS carabinieri are investigating the fugitive's stay in Calabria, as well as his trips abroad. Spain, Tunisia, Albania, and Montenegro were his destinations for various reasons. He may have returned to Spain for health reasons.

The secret interests of Messina Denaro may have been concealed by the interests of some entrepreneurs involved in the fishing industry. In Africa, on the other hand, part of the interests was concentrated by the capomafioso Giuseppe Guttadauro, a doctor and boss of the Brancaccio area, who has recently returned to prison. In Morocco, in Larache, Guttadauro is involved in fresh fish. Giuseppe Guttadauro is the brother of Filippo, one of the fugitives' sons-in-law (he married Rosalia's sister). Maria Mezi, who had previously been in a relationship with the fugitive, worked in the business run by Guttadauro in the province of Palermo. The woman and her brother have come under investigation again following the arrest of Messina Denaro. Recently, there have been connections with relatives of the former fugitive that warrant further investigation.

“He knew who it was,” the doctor from Messina Denaro has been arrested. “He signed more than 130 prescriptions for the fugitive mafia boss.”

It was also established, as part of the investigations by the Prosecutor's Office against the mafia, that dozens of tons of foreign tobacco are arriving in Sicily from North Africa, hidden among boxes of fish transported by fishing vessels across the Sicilian Strait. The reasons for the presence in Albania are still unknown. Nothing is leaking out, but they are tracking the traces of the drug trade. In Tirana, Albania, Luca Bellomo was intercepted; he is the husband of Lorenza Guttadauro, who is not only the niece of the capomafioso (the daughter of Rosalia and Filippo Guttadauro's sister) but also his lawyer. According to investigators, Messina Denaro sent Luca Bellomo as his messenger, intending to come himself to establish connections with representatives of the authorities and entrepreneurs.

Another case is Montenegro. There are no business secrets here, but the passion for gambling follows the trips of Messina Denaro, who placed his chips in Montenegrin casinos. Which of the many identification details he used? Not the one belonging to the geometer Andrea Bonafede, whose identity he assumed to receive treatment and surgery in Mazara del Vallo and Palermo. At some point, Messina Denaro returned home to avoid facing a serious illness alone.

Read the full article on Il Mattino.