The first hearing in the trial of Italian drug lord Matteo Messina Denaro, arrested on Monday by security forces, has been postponed until March 9 after the defendant failed to appear by video conference from prison.
Messina Denaro, considered one of the last great godfathers of the Cosa Nostra and a fugitive from justice for three decades, opted Thursday to undergo a chemotherapy session from L’Aquila prison and miss the first session of his trial, Rai News reported.
The public defender, Salvatore Baglio, appeared briefly at the hearing to communicate that Messina Denaro has appointed his niece Lorenza Guttadauro as a trusted defense, after which the president of the Court of Appeals of Caltanissetta, Maria Carmela Giannazzo, has decided to postpone the trial until March.
«The postponement of today’s hearing was foreseeable to a certain extent, because the defendant could also be present, but I suppose that the situation linked to his state of health and the treatment being given to the defendant have determined him to this choice,» Giannazzo said.
Meanwhile, the arrest of Giovanni Luppino, who was the Italian drug lord’s confidant and accompanied him to the La Maddalena clinic for his cancer treatment, has also been validated.
The arrest of Messina Denaro, in which about a hundred police officers took part, took place on Monday after the Cosa Nostra mafia boss went to the clinic under a false name, after which he was transferred to a maximum security prison.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
