This January 16 was a day that all Italians will remember for the rest of their lives. The reason? The arrest of Matteo Messina Denaro, the last boss of Cosa Nostra, the notorious Sicilian Mafia organization. Under the pseudonym Andrea Bonafade, one of the many he used, the boss tried to slip away from the Italian authorities, who finally caught him in a private clinic.
There are many revelations that have come out as a result of his arrest, and which have been echoed by media such as The Guardian. The researchers came to discover and reconstruct dozens of pieces of paper that the bloody gangster sent both to his subordinates and to his lover, Maria Mesi. And, among all the discoveries, there is one that perhaps no one expected: he was passionate about playing video games.
The boss who wanted to play Donkey Kong Country 3
The communication between Messina Denaro and her lover was facilitated by Filippo Guttadauro, the brother-in-law of the boss who was the liaison between him and his loved ones. And it was precisely in his house where they found all the correspondence of Maria Mesi.
“I have to go and I can’t explain now the reasons for this choice. Right now things are against me. I fight for a cause that today is not understood. But one day it will be known who was on the side of reason”, wrote the head of the Cosa Nostra to Maria, who signed the letters with his own name or variants of it.
The love she felt was such that she wanted to give the boss a proper gift. And what better gift than a good Super Nintendo video game? “I love you and I will love you all my life. […] I want so much to give you a present. You know, I read that the Donkey Kong [Country] 3 cartridge is out and I can’t wait for it to be released so I can buy it for you.”
Despite the many hours the mob boss would end up spending on Rare‘s popular video game while hiding from Justice, he may not have managed to play one of the most prominent JRPGs on the Super Nintendo. “The one from Secret of Mana 2 (Trials of Mana), has not arrived yet…”, wrote Maria, in a tone that conveys her regret for not being able to satisfy her lover.
At the moment, they are the only two video games that are mentioned in the papers discovered by the investigators, although we would not rule out that the kingpin would end up putting his hands on other successful Super Nintendo games, such as Super Castlevania IV, Chrono Trigger or Earthbound, even.
