• Marcello Paternostro / AFP - Getty Images

    A picture presented during a press conference by police shows Gaetano Riina, the 79-year-old mafia boss of Corleone - the Sicilian hilltop town made famous by "The Godfather" trilogy - after he was arrested the same day in Mazara del Vallo during a press conference in Palermo, Sicily, on July 1. Gaetano Riina is the brother of former Cosa Nostra kingpin Toto Riina, who is serving multiple life sentences for sanctioning scores of killings.

    Italian police arrest head of Corleone clan

    The AP reports from Rome, Italy:

    Italian police have arrested the brother of the Sicilian Mafia's one-time top boss in another blow to Cosa Nostra on the island.

    Carabinieri police said in a statement Friday that Gaetano Riina was one of four people arrested on mafia association and extortion charges.

    Riina took over as head of the Corleone clan following the 1993 arrest of his brother, "boss of bosses" Salvatore "Toto" Riina.

    In recent years, several top Mafia bosses have been arrested, seriously weakening the Sicilian mob while other crime syndicates on the Italian mainland have grown stronger, including the Camorra in the Naples area and the 'ndrangheta in southern Calabria.

    Police said the three-year investigation showed how powerful Corleone remained, despite the arrest of top bosses.