Italy arrests 7 more in bid to keep Sicilian Mafia down

MILAN – Italian police have arrested seven suspected members of the Mafia, as part of an ongoing operation to prevent the Sicilian Mafia from re-establishing a new hierarchy following the prison death 14 months ago of the last boss of bosses.

The arrests Tuesday in Palermo came a month after authorities announced they detained 47 people and dismantled the reassembled upper echelons of the Mafia.

Authorities said two new turncoats among those arrested in December provided information leading to the new arrests. They included a close relative of a boss of the Ciaculli faction and the son of the jailed San Lorenzo boss.

Both are accused of taking part in a May 29 meeting of clan leaders in Palermo, the first such meeting after Salvatore “Toto” Riina’s death in November 2017.