London Mafia Mobster's Sentence 'Extinguished'

A mafia gangster who was due to be extradited to Italy from the UK has been told he no longer has to serve his sentence.

Domenico Rancadore, known as "The Professor", hid out in Britain for more than 20 years until he was discovered living in west London in 2013.

Italian authorities wanted the 65-year-old returned to his native country because they said should spend time in jail for being head of an organised crime group.

He lost his battle against extradition in February but it emerged on Wednesday that the punishment he was due to serve has been "extinguished" since last October.

His solicitor Karen Todner said: "Domenico Rancadore's sentence in Italy extinguished due to age of conviction.

"I have sent a consent order for the discharge of Rancadore to the Crown Prosecution Service to sign."

Before his arrest, Rancadore was living in Uxbridge with his family under the name Marc Skinner.

After a year-and-a-half long extradition battle, the Sicilian was told he must return to Italy to serve his seven-year sentence.

He was never convicted of murder but was tried in his absence in 1999 for "association with the Mafia" because he was a member of the Cosa Nostra.

The mobster claimed he came to England out of fear in 1995 as he wanted to give his "children a good life" and that he felt "their life wasn't secure" in Italy.

He was first arrested on a European arrest warrant at his semi-detached London home in August 2013.

His lawyers initially defeated an attempt to extradite him on human rights grounds in March 2014 but they failed at a second attempt this year.

It is understood that under Italian law, although a conviction stands, a sentence expires once a period of more than double the time of the penalty has passed.

With a seven-year sentence, the 14-year period would have elapsed some time last year.