Fugitive Mafia Bomber Eludes Police Raid

One of Italy’s most wanted fugitives, an accused Mafia bomber, escaped capture by fleeing his hideout shortly before a police raid, authorities said Saturday.

A Mafia turncoat had led authorities on Friday to the apartment of Giovanni Brusca on the outskirts of Palermo, the AGI and ANSA news agencies said.

Brusca, 26, is accused of setting off the roadside explosion that killed top Mafia prosecutor Giovanni Falcone in 1992, a murder that sent shockwaves through Italy.

Authorities also allege he headed the team that planted car bombs in mid-1993 that damaged the Uffizi museum in Florence, two churches in Rome and a public art gallery in Milan.