Matteo Messina Denaro faced cancer diagnosis in silence, says oncologist in trial

 Matteo Messina Denaro reacted almost without batting an eye when he was diagnosed with the cancer that eventually led to his death.

This was stated in court in Marsala by an oncologist from the "La Maddalena" clinic in Palermo, Vittorio Gebbia, who was called as a defense witness in the trial of Dr. Alfonso Tumbarello, former general practitioner of Campobello di Mazara, who is accused of external complicity in a mafia association and falsifying public documents. He allegedly issued numerous medical certificates under the name "Andrea Bonafede" (born in 1963) to allow the mafia boss, who died in L'Aquila on September 25, 2023, to receive medical treatment.

"Mr. Bonafede (Matteo Messina Denaro, editor's note)," Gebbia added, "came alone and never indicated any family members as points of contact.

He never had an escort and didn’t seem like someone in financial difficulty. He absorbed the negative diagnosis almost in silence." In the same hearing, a pathologist from Castelvetrano hospital, Roberto David, also testified. He had conducted histological examinations on samples sent from Mazara hospital, where the first surgery on Messina Denaro was performed by surgeon Giacomo Urso. The doctor from Castelvetrano hospital mentioned some urgencies, but only for humanitarian reasons, from a hospital employee. However, he could not give a clear answer when asked whether Dr. Bavetta had specifically pushed for the sample report taken from Andrea Bonafede.

The two doctors were the last witnesses called by the defense, represented by lawyers Gioacchino Sbacchi and Giuseppe Pantaleo. The prosecutor is Palermo's anti-mafia deputy prosecutor, Gianluca De Leo.