The Facts
Matteo Messina Denaro, an Italian Mafia boss arrested in January after three decades on the run, died on Monday in the L'Aquila Hospital in central Italy after falling into an "irreversible coma" over the weekend.
Though the Sicilian Mafia leader had long been afflicted with colon cancer — with his condition having deteriorated in the past several weeks — the L'Aquila prosecutors office as well as that of prosecutors in Palermo, Sicily have requested an autopsy.
The Spin
Narrative A
While the death of Messina Denaro brings to a close the purest era of Cosa Nostra, it's a bitter development for Italians who waited decades for him to be brought to justice, as he spent less than a year behind bars. This sense of impunity is no good for the country, as it can only embolden the Mafiosi to continue engaging in their criminal behavior.
Narrative B
The story of Messina Denaro, as well as that of several other mafia bosses, teaches those who are attracted to the easy money of crime a lesson — that such activity leads to a life without freedom and a death without mercy. While the judicial system uses justice, not revenge, the nation will never forget what mafia members have done to innocent people.
