ROME – Italian authorities say a fugitive Sicilian Mafia boss has been arrested in Venezuela, with family ties aiding investigators on his trail.
Police and prosecutors in Palermo, the Sicilian capital, told reporters Tuesday that Salvatore Bonomolo was shopping in a mall on Margarita Island, a popular tourist destination, when he was arrested Monday. They said investigators tracked him down by following the movement of money his family sent to him from Italy and by intercepting phone calls his relatives made to him.
Italian authorities said Bonomolo had been wanted in Italy since 2007, where he has been convicted and sentenced to 10 years and 4 months in prison for extortion and Mafia association. He is an alleged boss of the Porta Nuova crime clan in Palermo.