A reputed Mafia boss escaped from an Italian prison Friday, and it's no mystery how. A surveillance video captured 40-year-old Marco Raduano climbing down a makeshift rope made from knotted bedsheets before jumping to the ground outside the maximum security prison Badu 'e Carros in Sardinia. In the footage, the reputed boss of the Sacra Corona Unita Mafia, who was serving an 18-year sentence for cocaine trafficking and had recently been charged with murder, falls hard to the ground but quickly jumps up and takes off running, per the New York Post. He ultimately scaled the prison's exterior wall, disappearing into the city of Nuoro, reports the Independent.
Despite the scene, prison officials failed to notice Raduano's absence for two hours. No one was watching the security footage, per the Post, as the prison's operations room was "unmanned." Officials say massive cuts have left "staff shortages," with about 50 employees in charge of 180 prisoners—a claim that has raised concerns about safety. "We have been denouncing [the] lack of personnel for months," says Giovanni Villa, the local leader of a correctional officers' union, per the Telegraph. He adds it appears "the escape was well planned for some time."
Raduano, arrested in 2018, reportedly worked in a prison library, where he was able to study guard schedules, per the outlet. He is said to have snagged a set of keys used to unlock a door leading to an outside wall during a shift change. He then made his escape during leisure period, which he normally spent in the upper-floor library. His escape coincided with a fireworks display in his hometown of Vieste, though its mayor denied any link, citing a birthday party. Hundreds of police officers and soldiers have been sent to Sardinia to aid in the manhunt, per the Post. Every vehicle that leaves Nuoro is reportedly being checked. (More prison escape stories.)
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