His brother Salvatore "Toto" Riina, once the supreme Cosa Nostra boss in Sicily, was arrested in 1993 and sentenced to life on multiple murder convictions.

Three associates were captured with Gaetano Riina, including two of his grandsons, Alessandro Correnti, 39, and Giuseppe Grizzafi, 33. All four will be charged with extortion and criminal association, prosecutors said.

A fictionalized mob dynasty named after Corleone was the subject of Mario Puzo's "Godfather" novel and Francis Ford Coppola's films.

"This operation shows that Corleone is still an important base for Cosa Nostra," said Francesco Messineo, a chief prosecutor in Palermo.

"The Mafia's resistance to operations conducted by the state has been particularly strong in Corleone. But the Corleone of today is not the same town as five or 10 years ago; civil society has taken enormous steps forward."