Mafia convict holds five people hostage in eight-hour stand-off at post office
The suspect brandished a 10-inch knife during an eight-hour stand-off after being sentenced to 19 years in prison for Mafia links.
Tuesday 6 November 2018 11:26, UK
A man who was upset after being sentenced to 19 years in prison for mafia links held five people hostage at a post office for eight hours.
Police said suspect Francesco Amato brandished a 10-inch knife but did not harm anyone during the stand-off in northern Italy.
He reportedly let a cashier out early on because she was feeling unwell.
The remaining four other people were allowed to walk free after "time, patience and dialogue", police said.
Amato then surrendered himself to officers waiting outside the building in the town of Pieve Modelana.
He was one of more than 120 people convicted on 31 October after a long-running trial over the alleged infiltration of businesses in the region of Emilia Romagna in northern Italy.
The 'Ndrangheta is Italy's most powerful organised crime network, based in the southern region of Calabria.
Investigators said the group, which is one of the world's biggest cocaine-trafficking organisations, has expanded northward in Italy and Europe as it seeks to launder billions of euros in illicit revenues and invest them in legitimate businesses.
Amato, like many others involved in the trial, was convicted in his absence.
"His was a strong demonstrative action about his situation," said Carabinieri Police Lieutenant Colonel Cristiano Desideri.
One of Amato's brothers who arrived at the scene during the stand-off said his sibling felt the conviction was unfair, Italian news agency ANSA reported.