48 held as police raid mafia

Italian police today arrested scores of suspected mobsters in raids in eastern Sicily, including the man authorities said was the Mafia chief in the area.

The Carabinieri police brought some 46 people behind bars in Catania, the largest city in eastern Sicily, a police spokesman said. Among them was Vincenzo Santapaola, he said.

Authorities believe Santapaola became the top boss in the city after the arrest more than a decade ago of his father, veteran Mafia boss Benedetto Santapaola.

The suspects are accused of Mafia association, drug trafficking and extortion, among other charges, the police spokesman said.

The ANSA news agency said that police also seized weapons and drugs, and found a book that listed extortion fees and salaries of the people working for the family.