Luigi Putrone (; born September 8, 1960, in
Porto Empedocle[Direzione Centrale della Polizia Criminale - "Programma Speciale di Ricerca" - Putrone Luigi]
/ref>) is a former Sicilian mafioso, considered to be head of a powerful Mafia clan based in Porto Empedocle, in the province of Agrigento.
He had been convicted in absentia to life in prison in July 2001 for a number of crimes committed in the 1980s and 1990s. In April 2004 he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for extortion committed against Agrigento businessmen. He also was involved in the kidnapping and murder of the 13-year-old Giuseppe Di Matteo the son of Santino Di Matteo
Santino Di Matteo (born 7 December 1954), also known as ''Mezzanasca'', is an Italian former member of the Sicilian Mafia from the town of Altofonte in the province of Palermo, Sicily, Italy.
Di Matteo took part in the killing of Antimafia judge ...
, a collaborating state witness ('' pentito''), to force him to retract his testimony. Giuseppe Di Matteo was tortured before being strangled and his body was dissolved in a barrel of acid to destroy the evidence.[The fugitive: How a bloodthirsty Mafia boss spent years in hiding in the Czech Republic]
The Prague Post, August 24, 2005[La madre del bimbo sciolto nell'acido: «Giuseppe ha vinto, la mafia ha perso»]
Corriere della Sera, November 10, 2008
On August 12, 2005, Putrone, one of the most wanted men in Italy, was arrested in Ústà nad Labem with him accomplice Frantisek Herm in the Czech Republic, some 100 kilometres north-west of Prague.[Czechs arrest Italian Mafia boss]
BBC News, August 12, 2005Putrone at his arrest (photos)
Repubblica.it[Mafia. Arrestato Luigi Putrone, boss latitante coinvolto nel sequestro del piccolo Di Matteo]
RaiNews 24
Rai News 24 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's all-news television channel, and is known for its 24-hour rolling news servic ...
, August 12, 2005[Arrestato boss latitante da 7 anni: Fu carceriere del piccolo Di Matteo]
La Repubblica, August 12, 2005
Putrone had probably been living in the Czech Republic for several years since going on the run in 1998. He appeared to be a local businessman, using a stolen Italian passport under the name Umberto Bonfiglio – a surname meaning "good son."
[
The Czech Republic extradited Luigi Putrone to Italy where he had been sentenced to ]life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
for mafia conspiracy (''associazione mafiosa'') and murder. In September 2006, he decided to become a ''pentito''.[Mafia, Luigi Putrone si è pentito]
, Agrigentonotizie.it, September 27, 2006
References
External links
Luigi Putrone su ''Fortezza''
Teleacras Agrigento, June 8, 2007
1960 births
Living people
Pentiti
Sicilian mafiosi
{{Mafia