This guy was close to the Corleonesi and was claimed to manage certain financial and drug interests for Sicilian mobsters by Antonino Guiffre. He was on Italy's most wanted list for years, hiding out in South Africa and repeatedly dodging extradition requests. He was recently arrested in a Bangkok airport by investigators tracking his movements through facebook. Pretty big news.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/...rested-thailand Thailand arrests Vito Roberto Palazzolo, 'South African' mafia banker wanted in ItalyVito Roberto Palazzolo, a Sicilian mafia banker wanted in Italy, has been arrested in Thailand.
Palazzolo, 64, from Terrasini near Sicily's capital, Palermo, is considered an important member of the Cosa Nostra mafia, Agence-France Presse reported.
He had been living in South Africa under the assumed name Robert von Palace Kolbatschenko, after having been sentenced in absentia by an Italian court in 2009 to nine years in jail for his mafia ties.
In South Africa, where he is a citizen, he is considered a major business leader with interests in mineral water, security and ostrich farming, AFP reported.
South Africa had refused to extradite Palazzolo, AFP said. He was arrested by Thai authorities as he arrived at Bangkok's international airport, via Hong Kong.
Investigators reportedly tracked him down after monitoring his Facebook profile. He was being watched by Interpol and the Public Prosecutor's Office of Palermo, AGI Palermo reported.
Public prosecutors in Palermo described Palazzolo in 2006 as "one of the most important Cosa Nostra figures in 20 years, notably because of his key role between business and the mafia."
The Associated Press described Palazzolo as a fugitive banker implicated in the "Pizza Connection" drug and money laundering trial.
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/ita...0-1226315535859Italian mafia boss arrested in Thailand THAI police have arrested a wanted Italian mafia boss after he flew to Bangkok airport, Italian media said overnight.
Vito Roberto Palazzolo, from Terrasini near the Sicilian capital Palermo and considered to be a leading member of the Cosa Nostra Sicilian mafia for whom he laundered money, was arrested on Friday.
He was sentenced in absentia by an Italian court in 2009 to nine years in jail for association with the mafia and had been living in South Africa under the name Robert von Palace Kolbatschenko.
South African authorities had declined to extradite the 64-year-old.
Investigators tracked him down after monitoring his Facebook profile and that of his friends and family.
Italian media reported that Thailand had agreed to his extradition to Italy but that his lawyers said he was a South African national, even though he had assumed it under another identity.
When he was first sentenced in 2006, public prosecutors in Palermo said Palazzolo was "one of the most important Cosa Nostra figures in 20 years, notably because of his key role between business and the mafia".
In South Africa he is seen as a major business leader with interests in mineral water, security and ostrich farming.
Investigators believe he is also the owner of a hunting ground popular with the rich and famous, and an investor in a company in Angola that specialising in precious stones.
He was also said to be the owner of a diamond cutting business.
