Italy marks 45th anniversary of Mattarella mafia murder

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 6 - Italy on Monday marked the 45th anniversary of the Cosa Nostra murder of Christian Democrat Sicily Governor Piersanti Mattarella, elder brother of Italian President Sergio Mattarella.
    The anniversary comes after Italian police have reopened the murder probe and pressed charges against two Mafia boss-hitmen lifers, Antonino Madonia, 72, and Giuseppe Lucchese, 67, who are alleged to have acted on the orders of late Cosa Nostra boss of bosses Salvatore 'The Beast' Riina.
    Piersanti Mattarella was gunned down in Palermo at the age of 44 after bravely taking a stand against the then very powerful Sicilia mafia and members of his own party who were suspected of helping it.
    Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi recalled Mattarella's "example of commitment and dedication to the common good" while Reform Minister Elisabetta Casellati underlined his "vision of a politics free from criminal conditioning and its commitment to modern and transparent institutions". (ANSA).