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Italy arrests senior mafia boss Italy arrests 'senior Mafia boss'
(30 minutes later)
Italian police have arrested the reputed new boss of the Sicilian Mafia.Italian police have arrested the reputed new boss of the Sicilian Mafia.
Salvatore Lo Piccolo, who had been on the run for 20 years, was apprehended along with his son and two other men near the Sicilian capital, Palermo. Salvatore Lo Piccolo, who had been at large for 20 years, was apprehended along with his son and two other men near the Sicilian capital, Palermo.
All four men were among Italy's top 30 most wanted mafia suspects, police said. All four men were among Italy's top 30 most wanted Mafia suspects, police officials said.
Mr Lo Piccolo, 65, is believed to have succeeded the Cosa Nostra mafia's "boss of bosses", Bernardo Provenzano, after he was arrested last year. Mr Lo Piccolo, 65, is believed to have succeeded the Cosa Nostra Mafia's "boss of bosses", Bernardo Provenzano, after he was arrested last year.
Successors
Officials say those arrested were Mafia chiefs who exercise immense power over the territory they control.
"This is an important arrest and an important day," Leoluca Orlando, the former mayor of Palermo and a Mafia expert who tried to tackle the problem when in office, told the BBC News website.
Bernardo Provenzano is held in a high security jail
"Since the arrest of Bernardo Provenzano, the boss of bosses of the so-called Corlonese Mafia, Salvatore Lo Piccolo was considered the new boss," Mr Orlando said.
Mr Provenzano, who led the Cosa Nostra from the early 1990s, was arrested in April 2006 after being on the run for more than 40 years.Mr Provenzano, who led the Cosa Nostra from the early 1990s, was arrested in April 2006 after being on the run for more than 40 years.
He is currently being held in isolation at a high security jail in Terni, central Italy. He is being held in isolation at a high security jail in Terni, central Italy.
After Mr Provenzano's arrest, Mr Lo Piccolo was believed to be among his most likely successors. Mr Lo Piccolo allegedly began as a bodyguard for a Sicilian gangster and worked his way up through the organisation.
The others were another of Mr Provenzano's senior aides, Antonino Rotolo, and Matteo Messina Denaro, a younger mafia leader from the Sicilian province of Trapani. After Mr Provenzano's arrest, Mr Lo Piccolo was believed to be among his most likely successors, along with Antonino Rotolo and Matteo Messina Denaro.
Mr Rotolo was arrested in June 2006. Mr Denaro remains on the run. Mr Rotolo was arrested in June 2006. Mr Denaro remains at large.
Mr Piccolo's arrest came on the day that Palermo held a day of memory for all victims of the Mafia.