Police bust mafia meeting

Fifteen suspected Mafia bosses have been arrested as they sat down in a Sicilian country house to elect a new Godfather.

Italian police swept on the house in Sicily while champagne corks were about to be popped celebrating the announcement.

A local councillor from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party was among those arrested in the swoop against organised crime.

The suspects had gathered to choose a new head for the important Agrigento region in south-western Sicily when they were caught off guard.

"I believe that the Agrigento operation is an historic event," said anti-Mafia police chief Pietro Grasso.

Police were led to the high-powered mob meeting after using a satellite bugging device, tracking Councillor Giuseppe Nobile, who was suspected of Mafia links.

Armed security forces stormed the building after recording the discussions using sophisticated microphones.

Among those arrested was the son of Salvatore Fragapane, believed to be the current head of the Agrigento clan and who is serving a life-term in prison for murder.

Councillor Nobile's presence at the meeting will be a blow to Berlusconi and his ruling party which has rejected accusations that its Sicilian branch had ties with local organised crime rings.

Berlusconi supporters won every seat in Sicily in last year's general election and have dominated recent local ballots.

The arrests came just two days after a top Mafia suspect broke years of silence to warn the government not to push ahead with plans to maintain special, rigid prison conditions for mobsters.

Leoluca Bagarella, accused of involvement in about 300 murders, stunned a courtroom in Sicily on Friday when he read a statement accusing unnamed politicians of failing to honour past promises.

Crime experts warned that his words might usher in a new period of Mafia attacks on politicians after almost a decade of seeking to keep a low profile.