Italian police capture fugitive mob boss sought for 20 years

Copied

ROME (AP) — Italian police say they have captured a convicted 'ndrangheta mob boss in his bed in a countryside hideout after 20 years on the run.

Carabiniere Col. Lorenzo Falferi says Italy's second most sought-after fugitive, Ernesto Fazzalari, was arrested Sunday in the hamlet of Molochio in the southern region of Calabria.

He described him as the most dangerous fugitive from the fold of the 'ndrangheta, one of the world's most powerful crime syndicates.

Authorities say Fazzalari was sleeping, alongside a woman, and didn't resist capture.

Falfieri said Fazzalari has been convicted of two murders, attempted murder, extortion and being a member of a Mafia-like organization and other crimes. Fazzalari, 46, has been sentenced to life in prison.

The No. 1 wanted fugitive is Matteo Messina Denaro, a Sicilian Cosa Nostra chieftain.