Cosa Nostra boss, 61, had been in hiding since 1993 and was arrested in January while attending hospital

Matteo Messina Denaro, the “last godfather” of the Sicilian mafia who was accused of orchestrating some of the most heinous crimes perpetrated by the Cosa Nostra, has died after a long illness, Italian media have reported.

National news agency ANSA announced his death overnight on Sunday. L’Aquila mayor Pierluigi Biondi confirmed Denaro’s death in hospital “following a worsening of his illness”.