Italian Judicial Snags Free Mafia Chieftain
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ROME — Michele Greco, the white-haired “boss of bosses” of the Siclian Mafia, left a high-security prison in Palermo as a free man Tuesday, less than five years after being sentenced to life for having ordered 78 murders.
The 67-year-old Greco, called “The Pope,” was among the last of 41 Mafiosi freed because the Italian justice system failed to meet legal deadlines for hearing their appeals.
“Extraordinary,” said a beaming Greco as he left Ucciardone Prison with well-wishers to enjoy the fruits of a judicial foul-up that police and prosecutors said has crippled Italy’s sagging anti-Mafia campaign.
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