700 mn euros of assets seized in Mafia probe 'Supermarket king' believed cover for fugitive Cosa Nostra boss

(ANSA) - Palermo, September 24 - Anti-mafia police on Tuesday seized more than 700 million euros' worth of assets from Sicilian businessman Giuseppe Grigoli, 64, suspected of being a trusted crony and dummy proprietor for the criminal fugitive Matteo Messina Denaro, who is believed to be the current chief of the Cosa Nostra Mafia. A court in Trapani, a city in western Sicily, ordered the confiscation of 220 buildings, including villas and large city residences, 133 parcels of land amounting to 60 hectares, and 12 businesses. Investigators claim the assets were bought as a means to launder ill-gotten gains.Grigoli, who is currently in jail, has been called the "supermarket king" for his leading role in food distribution in Sicily.Grigoli is serving a 12-year sentence for mafia criminal conspiracy handed down by a middle appeals court.In the same trial, Denaro, on the lam since 1993, was condemned in absentia to 20 years in prison. A 2011 Forbes Magazine article reported Denaro as one of the 10 most wanted criminals in the world.(photo: Giuseppe Grigoli)