AP – Police cordon-off a cheering crowd as Giovanni Tegano, not
in picture, is about to leave the Police headquarters …
ROME – A veteran mobster was arrested after 17 years
on the run, but a sympathetic crowd cheered him on Tuesday as he was
escorted out of a police barracks and taken to jail.
Giovanni Tegano, a member of the 'ndrangheta organized crime group,
was on the list of Italy's
top 30 most wanted
fugitives. Officials described the 70-year-old as a notorious
figure in the crime-ridden area and hailed his arrest as a tough blow to
the 'ndrangheta, a crime
syndicate based in the poor region of Calabria.
Police cordoned-off the cheering crowd of scores of
people as Tegano was leaving the police headquarters in Reggio Calabria, southern
Italy, on Tuesday.
"Giovanni is a man of peace!" one woman shouted. The
white-haired, bespectacled Tegano smiled and waved back.
"Given his role, seniority and the importance of
events he knew, he had risen to the ranks of one of the 'ndrangheta's
most important figures," said top police official Renato Cortese.
Tegano's years in hiding added to his charisma in the eyes of fellow
mobsters, Cortese said.
The 'ndrangheta, linked to crime around the world, is
today considered more powerful than the Sicilian Mafia.
Tegano is regarded as one of the few remaining
mobsters of the 'ndrangheta's old guard. He was implicated in a turf war
in the mid-1980s that left scores dead, and for that he has been
convicted to life in jail.
Officials said the mobster was apprehended Monday
evening in a house on the hills surrounding Reggio Calabria, the
regional capital. Also arrested were five men who were with him and are
accused of helping him during his years as a fugitive.
Tegano did not resist arrest, though he had a loaded
gun with him, Cortese said.
Tegano remained active despite his old age, the ANSA news agency
reported. The villa where he was arrested was not far from the poor
neighborhood in Reggio Calabria that had long been the center of his
illicit activities.
Interior
Minister Roberto Maroni said Tegano's arrest is the "hardest
blow that could be dealt to the 'ndrangheta today." Reggio Calabria police chief
Carmelo Casabona said the arrest "closes a dark chapter" in the
city's history.
Officials said they were saddened to see the applause
from the crowd, which some described as made up of relatives and
friends.
"We'll work harder to win the hearts of people,"
Casabona said.
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