VOA常速英语2007年-Italy Arrests Chief Mafia Boss

By Sabina Castelfranco
Roma
05 November 2007

Italian police have arrested the man considered to be the new boss of the Sicilian Mafia. Salvatore Lo Piccolo had been on the run for more than 20 years. He was picked up with his son and two other men near the Sicilian capital, Palermo. Sabina Castelfranco reports from Rome.

All four men arrested by Italian police in Palermo were among Italy's top 30 most wanted Mafia suspects. And the arrest of the kingpin of the the Sicilian Mafia, Salvatore Lo Piccolo, was hailed by Italian law enforcement.

The 65-year-old was sentenced to life in prison for murder and had been on the run since 1983. Investigators¹ considered him the new boss of bosses of the Sicilian Mafia, after the arrest Salvatore Provenzano in 2006.

Police carried out a morning raid on a house outside the Sicilian capital Palermo, where the men were meeting. Officials said the four men arrested were Mafia chiefs who exercise immense power over the territory they control. In Palermo, where many residents are forced to pay protection money to the mafia, a crowd celebrated² the arrests outside police headquarters.

Prime Minister Romano Prodi hailed the arrests as "a success for the state and for all honest citizens."

The head of the Italian parliament's anti-Mafia committee, Francesco Forgione, said the arrests were a big blow to the Mafia in Sicily. He added that the Lo Piccolos were linked to U.S. crime syndicates.

Forgione said the Lo Piccolos were involved in restructuring the Mafia after the arrest of Provenzano and were organizing the return of bosses who escaped to the United States. He charged they were go-betweens with the American Mafia and were involved in large financial and business investment.

He added that it was a huge blow but one must never lower one's guard because the Mafia has an incredible ability to re-generate itself.

Investigators believe Lo Piccolo emerged from a power struggle within the Mafia. Prosecutors⁴ say Lo Piccolo had been vying⁵ to become the Sicilian Mafia's unchallenged top boss with another fugitive⁶, Matteo Messina Denaro, a younger boss from western Sicily.

Italy's national anti-mafia prosecutor³ Piero Grasso said Salvatore Lo Piccolo was the only one capable of carrying Provenzano's legacy⁷.

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

3 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

4 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

5 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

6 fugitive   

adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者

参考例句：

• The police were able to deduce where the fugitive was hiding.警方成功地推断出那逃亡者躲藏的地方。
• The fugitive is believed to be headed for the border.逃犯被认为在向国境线逃窜。

7 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。