Interestingly these come the same day as major 'ndrangheta and comorra-linked busts in Calabria and Campania - presumably somewhat coordinated.

Anyway, nuts and bolts of what happened is reported to have happened in Bagheria is:

* Operation "Argo" led to 30 people being arrested for various offences including: mafia association, extortion, robbery, illegal possession of firearms, exchange electoral politics and organized crime and international drug trafficking.
* "Argo" specifically centred on the Bagheria cosca - a historical mafia stronghold - but drew in capofamiglia from elsewhere in the Bagheria mandamento - including Villabate, Altavilla Milicia and Ficarazzi
* Police claiming arrests have effectively "decapitated" the leadership of the Bagheria cosca with the arrests of Gino Di Salvo and Sergio Rosario Flamia - who they identify as the boss and underboss of the Bagheria family. They also arrested large numbers of Bagheria clan members.
* Police are also saying that among those arrested are the heads of the Villabate, Altavilla and Ficarazzi families, which make up the mandamento along with Bagheria.
* Police claim to have established links between the Bagheria cosca and regional election vote rigging. This relates specifically the mayoral elections in Alimena - a small village in the far east of Palermo province - and the election of a Northern League candidate.
* Definitely of interest to the North Americans here is the fact the arrests were conducted in partnership with Canada's Royal Mounted Police due to Bagheria's drug traffiking links with the Rizzutos and possible evidence of Bagheria providing hitmen or "zips" to carry out executions in Canada. This all seems to stem from the arrival of drug smuggler and Rizzuto associate Juan Ramon Fernandez Paz in Bagheria after being kicked out of Canada.
* More than €30 million seized - including lots of Palermo-based businesses such as major nightclubs, betting shops, supermarket stores and construction companies "seized" over their links to Bagheria clans.
* Not sure how exactly they found this out (paperwork, pentito, wiretaps??) but police are also claiming to have uncovered evidence relating to Bagheria bosses discussing mafia traditions and comparing new members to "young horses" - essentially treating them severely but rewarding them well until they are fully trained, fully skilled and fully submissive.
* The names of those arrested are: Giacinto Di Salvo, Sergio Rosario Flamia, Silvestro Girgenti; Salvatore Giuseppe Bruno, Driss Mozdahir, Francesco Centineo; Vincenzo Gagliano, Vincenzo Graniti, Pietro Liga, Salvatore Fontana; Michele Cirrincione, Atanasio Ugo Leonforte, Salvatore Lauricella, Pietro Granà, Rosario La Mantia, Raffaele Purpi, Vincenzo Gennaro, Umberto Giagliardo, Pietro Tirenna, Giuseppe Salvatore Carbone, Settimo Montesanto.

Links (Italian only, sorry):
http://www.gds.it/gds/edizioni-locali/palermo/dettaglio/articolo/gdsid/259452/
http://www.gds.it/gds/multimedia/cronaca/gdsid/259632/ - IMAGES OF THOSE ARRESTED
http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2013/05/...eghista/586839/
http://www.agi.it/cronaca/notizie/201305...nto_di_bagheria

Meanwhile in Siracusa:

* Arrest warrants issued for 18 people (15 of whom are now in custody) - all members of a clan called Linguanti, which was based in Cassibile - a small village about 18km south of Siracusa city.
* The clan dominated organised crime in the town and members were arrested on charges of mafia association aimed at committing murders, the transport and sale of drugs, extortion (aggravated damages), weapons charges, and controlling gambling.
* Four of the arrest warrants were for people already under arrests.
* The Linguanti clan appears to be independent and I curently cannot find evidence they ae linked to the Santapaolo family.
* The names of those arrested are: Antonino Linguanti, 47 (the clan leader - already in custody) , Salvatore Battaglia, 39 (already in custody), Nunzio Salafia, 63, (called "the patriarch" and already in custody), Giuseppe Olanda, 25 (already in custody), Giuseppe Floridia, 34, Antonino Fabio, 45, Leonardo Vicario, 29, Salvatore Galiffi, 35, Massimo Galiffi, 25, Mirko Giacona, 27, Ignazio Buffa, 22, Francesco Campanella, 25 and Emanuele Cappello 22. Still to be arrested are Giuseppe D'Alterio, 27, Vincenzo Agricola, 29, Paolo Sciuto, 37, Armando Selvaggio, 29 and Vincenzo Morale, 45.

JBS:

Could you link us to an Italian-language article that mentions the possible evidence about assassins' being furnished to perform contracts in Canada?

I read all the articles or items you had linked to in your first post and, unless I read these too quickly, I didn't see any mentions of what I'm asking about. I do realize that not all of the information in your first post came only from those four articles or items.

Thanks.