Mafia boss gets life for German killings

The ringleader of a gangland massacre of six people in Germany was jailed for life by an Italian court yesterday for an attack that highlighted the international reach of the Calabrian Mafia.

Giovanni Strangio was one of eight people convicted and given the maximum sentence for their roles in a violent feud that culminated in the 2007 slayings in the western German city of Duisburg.

Three other people were convicted and sentenced to terms ranging from nine to 12 years, while three more were acquitted by the court in the southern city of Locri.

Six Italian men were shot dead on 15 August 2007 as they left a birthday party at an Italian restaurant. Prosecutors said the massacre was part of a long-running feud between two clans of the 'Ndrangheta, which is based in the southern region of Calabria. The 'Ndrangheta is considered more powerful than the Sicilian Mafia.