rome salvatore toto riina sicilian mafia powerful boss 20th century convict order dozens murder die natural cause early friday almost quarter century jail riina turn 87 thursday die prison ward hospital parma northern italian city serve 26 life sentence homicides commit 1969 1992. victims include two magistrates lead campaign bring mob boss justice fall coma complications surgery days ago family give permission side thursday justice ministry say nickname beast riina begin violent criminal career streets corleone world war two become sicilian mafia boss boss reach 20th century apex riina oversee flourish economic period organize crime group cosa nostra thing traffic heroin eastern unite state pull lever political power palermo rome due riina savagery hundreds mobsters break code silence 1980s 1990s testify allow magistrates giovanni falcone paolo borsellino uncover long-hidden secrets cosa nostra prosecute leaders crimes soldier riina january 1993 arrest 20 years fugitive come months falcone borsellino blow order coincide tumultuous downfall italy corrupt post-war political system since riina hold high security little access family accordance law write prevent boss command prison however remain powerful figure within mob even behind bar refuse cooperate investigators end matteo messina denaro riina ally fugitive 25 years high rank boss still large unlikely able take power john dickie british historian author book cosa nostra tell reuters cosa nostra internally politically divide way make almost ungovernable division date back riina campaign power 80s dickie say riina survive foes within cosa nostra close tie north america ones likely seek shift crime syndicate balance power sicilian mafia struggle need renew access unite state crucial organization since 1880s dickie say give various nickname years toto shorty beast among riina 19 shoot man dead gang fight corleone spend six years prison rite passage mafioso return corleone childhood friend bernardo provenzano would lead cosa nostra riina arrest fell sway luciano leggio leggio take corleone mafia riina provenzano side kill town wartime mafia boss medical doctor michele navarra 1958. u.s. author mario puzo would late name main character godfather town 1969 riina provenzano lead hit squad fear boss michele cobra cavataio ambush inside office palermo kill cobra another mafioso two innocent bystanders so-called lazio street massacre give corleone clan foothold sicily capital post cosa nostra govern body commission arrest leggio 1974 make riina act boss corleone crime family 1981 murder mob boss stefano bontate signal begin two-year kill spree know slaughter riina seek annihilate many rival fear live families hundreds mobsters break code silence omerta cooperate investigators turncoat testimony key component falcone borsellino landmark case cosa nostra january 1992 end hold mob boss responsible crimes commit underlings two months late mafia assassins gun salvo lima prime minister giulio andreotti right-hand man sicily send clear message riina think court rule rome failure stop may year massive bomb blow apart motorway near palermo kill falcone wife three bodyguards july borsellino blow another car bomb along five bodyguards riina arrest palermo six months borsellino murder never break code silence leave shroud mystery suspect negotiations cosa nostra rome say take place falcone assassination law-enforcement crackdown follow 1992 bomb severely hobble cosa nostra whose presence sicily still felt whose economic political might fade today calabria ndrangheta consider investigators italy powerful organize crime group thank role big european importer south american cocaine mafia tradition carry forward riina two sons giovanni giuseppe remain loyal father giovanni sentence life prison four murder giuseppe spend several years jail mafia charge though free riina also survive two daughters maria concetta lucia wife antonietta funeral likely private ceremony corleone police say mob boss mass murderer riina die natural cause