Giovanni Arena (; born August 9, 1956 in

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

) is an Italian criminal belonging to Cosa Nostra. He was on the "

list of most wanted fugitives in Italy The list of most wanted fugitives in Italy is a most wanted list published by the Italian Interior Ministry. It includes criminals who are considered extremely dangerous by the Polizia di Stato. The list was started in July 1992. There are also lis ...

" of the ministry of the Interior since 1993, wanted for murder, membership to the Mafia and other crimes, until his arrest on October 26, 2011.Catania, preso il boss Arena
La Repubblica, October 26, 2011 In 2005, an international alert had been issued for his arrest and extradition. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in May 2003 for the murder of Maurizio Romeo of the rival Ferrera clan in October 1989. During 1990 he emigrated to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and married B. Arena. He lived until December 1992 in Germany

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

with his German wife until he was arrested by the German Bremen Police Department for illegal activities. He is a fugitive since December 1993 when he managed to escape from Operation ''Orsa Maggiore'', a major police action against the Mafia in Catania.Cosa nostra, Giovanni Arena fra i 30 latitanti piu' pericolosi
Sicily Today, January 6, 2009 Arena was one of the top figures of the clan of

Nitto Santapaola Benedetto Santapaola (; born 4 June 1938), better known as Nitto, is a prominent mafioso from Catania, the main city and industrial centre on Sicily's east coast. His nickname is ''il cacciatore'' (the hunter), because of his passion for shooting ...

, but is now considered to be allied with the Sciuto-Tigna crime group of the Cappello clan, historic rivals of Cosa Nostra. His son Antonino Arena is a fugitive as well since 2009, wanted for cannabis trafficking. His group supplied 50 kg cannabis a month to dealers in neighbourhoods of Catania around the ''Palazzo di cemento'' in the Librino quarter.Mafia: sequestro beni a figlio boss, entrambi sono latitanti
ANSA, May 17, 2010Colpo alla cosca Sciuto-Tigna
Live Sicily, March 14, 2009 His other sons are also involved in illicit business. Agatino Arena was arrested in February 2009, and his younger brother Maurizio Arena was arrested on December 4, 2009, for drug trafficking.Droga: Catania, arrestato altro figlio del boss latitante Arena
Sicilia online, December 4, 2009 Giovanni Arena was arrested on October 26, 2011, in Catania.

References

1956 births Living people Sicilian mafiosi {{Mafia