Wife dies in Belmonte Mezzagno, mafia boss Spera asks for permission to go to funeral

Maria Liberata Spera, 87, the wife of Benedetto Spera, the mafia boss of Belmonte Mezzagno, sentenced to life imprisonment, has died. Her 90-year-old husband, who is detained under 41 bis in the Opera prison, has asked for permission to say his last farewell.

The Milan Surveillance Court has previously denied the boss permission to visit his sick wife. Similarly, requests for a reward permit and deferral of sentence for health reasons were rejected.

Benedetto Spera, arrested in 2001, was the head of the Belmonte Mezzagno district. The DDA, the prosecutor's office and the Palermo police headquarters have always given a negative opinion because the prisoner is considered socially dangerous and could reactivate contacts with Cosa Nostra.

Lawyer Maurizio Di Marco, Spera's lawyer, has filed several requests for Bernardo Provenzano's most loyal follower, arrested in the Mezzojuso countryside after nine years on the run.