| Domenico Rancadore | |
| Nationality: | Italian |
| Alias: | Marc Skinner |
| Allegiance: | Cosa Nostra |
| Spouse: | Anne Skinner[1] |
Domenico Rancadore (aka Marc Skinner and "the teacher"[1]) is accused by the Italian government of being a past boss in the Sicilian Mafia, also known as Cosa Nostra. Italian police listed him as one of Italy's "most wanted criminals".
The BBC described him as "head of a crime family",[2] and the Italian press identified him as the one-time boss of the Mafia organisation in the town of Trabia, in the province of Palermo.[3] [4] The Italian deputy prime minister, Angelino Alfano, said he is an "important mobster".
In 1993, after Rancadore was found not guilty of Mafia-related crimes by Italian courts, he moved to England. The Italian courts convicted Rancadore in 1999 in absentia of being part of a criminal organisation; he was sentenced to seven years in jail on that charge.
After he moved to England in 1993, Rancadore opened a travel agency with his wife. While English authorities were aware that Rancadore was in London they were unable to arrest him because, unlike Italy, in England, Mafia association is not a crime.[5] Italian authorities asked for his extradition to Italy in January 2012, which was denied by the British authorities.[3] [4] According to Vittorio Teresi from the prosecution office in Palermo: "The crime of Mafia association is not recognised in the British legal system. The extradition request was not even considered."[4]
Rancadore was arrested on 7 August 2013 in Manor Waye, Uxbridge, London.[6] When he saw the police, he left his house via a back door in an attempt to escape[1] but was apprehended by a waiting policeman.[7] After he was captured, a new arrest warrant was made, as Rancadore's lawyers claimed that the previous warrant contained "significant deficiencies".[6] Rancadore was arrested following a European arrest warrant being issued.[8]
Rancadore was denied bail by a judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court and had an extradition hearing set for 25 November 2013.[6] Gaetano Lima, a past member of the mafia turned informer, described Rancadore as dangerous. The representative for the defense questioned whether Rancadore was a leader in the Mafia.[9]
On February 28, 2014, the extradition hearing was adjourned until Monday March 17,[10] when it was determined at Westminster Magistrates' Court that Rancadore would not be extradited back to Italy. District judge Howard Riddle said a recent decision of the Administrative Court, which binds lower courts in England, led to his decision.[11]
Rancadore raised concerns that if he was extradited back to Italy, he would be killed by the Mafia.[8] Rancadore reportedly said that "I’m not going back, they’ll kill me".[8] [12]