Patrizia Messina Denaro, Sister of Mafia Boss, Released from Prison

Patrizia Messina Denaro, the younger sister of notorious Cosa Nostra boss Matteo Messina Denaro, has been released from prison after serving her full sentence. She had been arrested on December 13, 2013, and convicted of mafia association. She was being held at the Vigevano prison, from which she was released this week.

Now 55 years old, Messina Denaro was considered by investigators to be a key figure within the criminal network run by her brother, who was captured on January 16, 2023, after three decades on the run, and died in the maximum-security prison in L’Aquila in September of the same year.

According to prosecutors, Patrizia played a central role in maintaining a secret communication network, acting as a conduit between the fugitive boss and his associates. In the pizzini (small handwritten notes) found by the Carabinieri’s ROS unit in her brother’s hideout in Campobello di Mazara, there were multiple references to Patrizia, including money earmarked for her legal and personal expenses: “€4,500 Avv. Patrizia” and “€1,000 Pat.”

Authorities believe she holds crucial knowledge about the inner workings and secrets of the powerful clan founded by her brother—once considered one of the most influential within Cosa Nostra.