A Sicilian mafia boss serving a life sentence has bitten off and swallowed a prison guard's finger during an altercation, according to Italian news reports. Giuseppe Fanara, 60, attacked seven guards at Rome's Rebibbia prison in June when they came to inspect his cell, the daily Il Messaggero reported.
Fanara, a member of Sicily's Cosa Nostra clan, was nine years into his sentence under Italy's strict '41-bis' penal code, which isolates mafia bosses to prevent them from running their organisations from prison. During the struggle, he bit off the little finger of one guard's right hand, which later disappeared, leading a Rome prosecutor to conclude it had been eaten.
The prisoner then charged the other six guards using a broomstick as a weapon, allegedly shouting, 'I'll slit your throats like pigs!' Fanara has since been transferred to Sardinia's high-security Sassari prison and faces new charges including aggravated assault and resisting arrest.
Fanara was arrested in 2011 during the 'Sicania 2' anti-mafia operation, which investigated five murders and two failed ambushes in the late 1990s. The incident comes amid concerns that Italy's decision to release elderly and infirm mob bosses during the coronavirus pandemic could allow the mafia to regain influence.
