Mafia boss flees Sicily to have prostate surgery in France

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Telegraph
By Bruce Johnston in Rome
(Filed: 27/02/2005)

For more than 40 years, Sicilian investigators have been pursuing the Godfather of Palermo, Bernardo Provenzano. The Mafia boss, who is nicknamed "The Tractor" for the way he mows down opponents, has always managed to stay one step ahead of justice – even, it seems, when he needs urgent medical treatment. Provenzano, it was revealed last week, has undergone a prostate operation in a private clinic near Marseilles, travelling from Sicily to France by car without being apprehended.

The most recent photograph of Provenzano is decades old but investigators were alerted to the French connection when medical records from Marseilles were seized in a raid. The records apparently belonged to a Sicilian baker, Gaspare Troia, who had had a prostate operation in October 2003.

Police interest was sparked at once. Provenzano's prostate problem is legendary.

Mr Troia, at 73, is a year older than Provenzano. His son, Salvatore, is also alleged to have been among the don's many helpers. When questioned, Mr Troia Snr candidly said that he had neither prostate problems nor had he undergone an operation, or indeed ever been to Marseilles.

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