Watch: 'I don’t know who Riina is': Refalo responds to Mafia boss link in Gozo

Updated at 4.31pm with PL statement

Minister Anton Refalo claimed he did not know who Toto Riina was when confronted by an Italian journalist over allegations the notorious Mafia boss had lived in a property he now holds title to.

The feared Mafia boss, who died in 2017, was at the centre of an investigative programme aired on RAI 3's Lo Stato Delle Cose on Monday night. Riina, who was convicted in 1993 for numerous murders, was apparently a frequent visitor to Gozo from the 1980s. 

The Italian media zoomed in on his connection with Refalo, especially Riina's use of a seafront property in Gozo that the Labour minister currently holds title to.

The RAI television journalist did not immediately identify himself as a reporter when he first spoke to the minister.

The programme shows the agriculture minister at the front door of the Qala house, being asked by the RAI journalist about Riina’s Gozo hideout.

“I do not know who that is,” Refalo said, about the feared man known as 'il capo dei capi' (the boss of bosses).

He was then asked how long he had had the Qala property, to which Refalo responded: “Why do you want to know?”

It was then that the Italian journalist identified himself.

Salvatore (Toto) Riina after his arrest on January 15, 1993. Photo: Shirto, via Wikimedia Commons

In the footage, Refalo said he did not know when he took over the property and said he does not know if Toto Riina ever lived in it.

Riina is considered to have been one of Sicily's most dangerous mafia bosses and led the Corleonesi mafia in the 1980s and 1990s, declaring a “war against the state”.

He is believed to have ordered the murder of up to 200 people, including most famously anti-mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.

In a maxi trial of Sicilian mafia in Palermo in 1986, he was sentenced to life in prison in absentia, but he was only captured in 1993 after 23 years of living as a fugitive. His capture provoked a series of bombings across Sicily in art galleries and churches. 

The property Anton Refalo has leased. Photo: Google Maps

The television programme follows a news report in La Stampa, which said that Riina hid from Italian authorities in a sea-view villa in Qala now owned by the Maltese minister. 

Reacting to the claims, Refalo said he does not own the house but has leased it since 2002, nine years after Riina was arrested.

The last known contract of sale for the Qala house dates to May 1979, when it was sold to an Italian woman from Brescia in northern Italy.

Refalo signed the long lease agreement in 2002. In that agreement, the owner was represented by a legal representative.

The agreement obliged Refalo to pay a yearly rent and to renovate the house, which had been left in a decrepit state.

Times of Malta has seen the 1979 contract of sale, the lease agreement and photos of the property in 2002.

Culture of 'not my business' strengthens mafia: Repubblika

In a statement, the rule of law NGO Repubblika criticised Refalo for not answering questions from the media.  

“The culture of ‘not my business’ is the omertà that gives power to the mafia," the statement read. 

"Indifference is complicity. And when indifference comes from community leaders such as Anton Refalo, it helps the mafia to reign. We are indeed speaking about historical facts. But the denunciation of these facts must be alive today. ‘Not my business’ today helps the mafia today."

They said Refalo’s “pathetic display” when confronted by the media brings about more questions than answers.

Will the Prime Minister question Refalo?: PN

In a statement, the Nationalist Party called on the minister to clarify the facts surrounding the case and to state clearly whether the house in Qala is his and how he came into possession of it or if it was leased, and if so, from whom.

The PN also criticised the prime minister for not making any comments on the story involving a key member of his cabinet. 

"Has the prime minister summoned Anton Refalo this morning to request a clarification following the shocking revelations made yesterday," the PN asked.

The party also asked if the police commissioner has summoned the minister for questioning and whether any searches have been carried out by the police at the Qala villa.

The PN pointed out how Refalo said he did not know who Riina is, and how he could not remember exactly when he bought the house and claimed he could not recall when he got married. 

"Minister Anton Refalo has many questions to answer following what was revealed last night by the Rai 3 programme Lo Stato delle Cose," the statement read.

The statement said that while Refalo said he could not remember when he purchased the property, presenter Massimo Giletti revealed that he had received correspondence from Refalo stating that the house is not his and never was. 

PN hostage to extremist faction: PL

The Labour Party hit back at what it called is a “coordinated attack” against Refalo, saying it confirmed the Nationalist Party “remains hostage to its extremist faction”.

In a statement, the PL defended Refalo pointing out he “holds no title over the property” and he rented it out from third parties nine years after Riina was arrested.

“No matter how much the PN and its extremist faction try to twist the truth, these are the facts,” the PL said.

It added that Riina was “allegedly able to enter and leave Malta freely” while the PN was in government.