Ailing Mob Boss Shot, Killed As He Drove To Hospital

Gunmen shot and killed an ailing mob boss as he drove to a Palermo hospital for treatment Sunday.

Two attackers pulled up alongside of the car carrying Antonino Geraci, shooting him five times in the head at close range, RAI state television and the ANSA news agency said.

A female passenger was unharmed. The attackers - it was not clear whether they were in a car or on a motorcycle - escaped.

Investigators suspected the slaying stemmed from mob rivalries.

Recently released from prison, Geraci, 68, had been ordered to live in a small town in eastern Sicily to avoid contact with mob bosses in his reputed power base at Palermo.

But authorities recently gave him permission to go to the Palermo hospital for treatment of a heart ailment, RAI reported.