Notorious Sicilian mafia figure Giovanni Brusca has described himself as a 'monster' in a new book to be released on Thursday.

Brusca, 67, once known as 'the pig', was arrested in 1996. He was handed a reduced sentence of 30 years and was released five years early in 2021 for good behaviour. He was provided housing in a secret location and a payout of a €1000 each month.

His victims include anti-mafia prosecutor ­Giovanni Falcone, who he killed after detonating half a tonne of explosives under a road in Capaci, near Palermo as his car passed by.

He also ordered the death by strangling of 12-year-old Giuseppe Di Matteo, the son of a mafia turncoat.

Sicilian mafia boss Giovanni Brusca, who committed over 150 murders, has admitted to being a 'monster'

The boy was kidnapped and, after being held for two years, was killed and his body dissolved in acid.

Brusca was interviewed while he was still imprisoned in Rome by anti-mafia volunteer and parish priest Don Marcello Cozzi for the new book, titled Someone Like That, the Times reported.

Referring to Di Matteo's murder, Brusca said that he knew that there 'was no forgiveness' for such a crime, while admitting that he is 'often accused of not outwardly showing repentance'.

In the book, he also reflects on his childhood home being raided and how he viewed the Cosa Nostra's most fearsome boss, Totò Riina, as 'God on earth'.

Brusca being escorted to prison by anti-mafia police in Palermo. The mafia fugitive was sentenced to 30 years in jail, but was released five years early for good behaviour in 2021

Brusca also admits that he owes his early release to his victim Falcone, who helped to secure shorter sentences for mafia fugitives.

Author Mr Cozzi said that while he expected to see 'the monster of Capaci' in Brusca, he was struck by the mobster's 'everyday normality', insisting he is 'tormented by his past'.

Writing what he calls a 'psychological portrait', Mr Cozzi said he wanted to 'look the mafia in the face', an organisation he says you cannot see 'from the outside'.

His work has garnered a mixed response from the press, with La Repubblica writing that the families of Brusca's victims had 'a right not to forgive'.