Pasquale Scotti Arrested In Brazil After 30 Years On The Run

Pasquale Scotti, Italian mafia boss, was arrested in Brazil after 30 years on the run, report Brazilian police.

Mob Boss Pasquale Scotti Arrested

Scotti has been on the run since 1984 after he was arrested for his involvement in a shootout as the boss of the Nuova Camorra mafia group in Naples. In 1991, Scotti was convicted in absentia of illegal possession of firearms, extortion and over 20 murders, which took place in the ‘80s. Now over two decades since his conviction, Scotti will finally serve his life sentence following extradition to Italy.

Brazilian authorities and INTERPOL reportedly arrested Scotti on Tuesday as he walked his kids to school in Recife, Brazil. Scotti, 56, had been living in Brazil under the assumed name of Francisco de Castro Visconti since 1987, and has reportedly undergone plastic surgery to change his appearance. He was identified with the use of digital fingerprints he submitted while registering to vote. Scotti was married in 1995 and has two children, but police believe his family was unaware of his criminal past.

“He was approached in the morning when he left home and the arrest was communicated. The officers allowed him to take his kids to school first, followed him, and then arrested him. There was no resistance, it was very discreet,” said Pernambuco federal police force communications officer Giovani Santoro.

Scotti reportedly surrendered easily to the authorities, saying, “It’s me, you got me. But that Pasquale Scotti doesn’t exist anymore, he died in the ‘80s.”

Some reports suggest that Scotti has never been involved in any criminal activity in Brazil, but Naples authorities reportedly allege that Scotti had been reaching out to his old Camorra contacts recently in an effort to establish a new criminal organization in Brazil. “His holdings are currently under investigation in Brazil. It seems he did retain some contracts at home,” confirmed Naples prosecutor Giovanni Colangelo.