article: A Sicilian Mafia fugitive dubbed the Godfather of Uxbridge who was set to be extradited to Italy will be allowed to remain in the UK after his sentence was dropped. Domenico Rancadore, who has lived in Britain for more than 20 years, was given a seven-year sentence by an Italian court in 1999 for being a member of the Cosa Nostra. In February he lost his year-and-a-half battle against extradition and was told he must return to Italy to serve his sentence. But today it emerged that the 65-year-old's case expired last October and his European Arrest Warrant is to be withdrawn. Sentence dropped: Domenico Rancadore (right and left) fled to Britain in the 1990s and was convicted in his absence in Italy for his role as a 'man of honour' Although his conviction remains intact, Italian law states that a sentence is extinguished once a period of more than double the time of the penalty has passed. The case will still have to be heard by the Italian Supreme Court, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Rancadore's solicitor, Karen Todner said: 'Yesterday the Italian Court of Appeal agreed to extinguish the conviction of Domenico Rancadore on the basis that the conviction is too old to sustain a prison sentence. 'I am therefore confident that the Italian government will now withdraw their application for a European Arrest Warrant and that Mr Rancadore will be discharged from these proceedings. 'There has been a long and unhappy history of these proceedings and I am delighted Mr Rancadore will now be able to live in peace in England with his wife and family.' Ms Todner said she was waiting for the CPS to sign a consent order so that the court could discharge Rancadore. Once the paperwork is in order, the matter will be listed at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London and a judge will then have to approve it. The Italian mobster does not have to be present when the matter is dealt with in court. Domenico Rancadore, pictured with hiswife Ann last year, will be allowed to remain in the UK after his sentence dropped . Rancadore was first arrested on a European arrest warrant at his semi-detached London home in August 2013. Although he was never convicted of murder, the Italian authorities wanted him to be returned to the country after he fled in 1995. Known as the Professor, Rancadore was tried in absentia and handed a seven-year prison term for his 'Mafia association'. He was convicted for his role as a 'man of honour', taking bribes from builders in Palermo. During protracted extradition proceedings at Westminster Magistrates' Court, District Judge Howard Riddle reversed his initial decision over concerns that Italian prison conditions would breach his human rights because he has a serious heart condition. In his judgment, Judge Riddle said: 'I am satisfied that, even without the assurance, there is no real risk that by returning this defendant to Italy he will suffer inhuman or degrading treatment.' Before his arrest in 2013, the Mafia don spent two decades living under the name of Marc Skinner with his family in a house surrounded by a fence and large hedge, obscured from view. He claimed he had changed his name to escape the notoriety associated with his father, Giuseppe. Rancadore's father was imprisoned in 1987 as part of the maxi trial which saw 475 Mafiosi indicted. Before his arrest in 2013, Rancadore spent two decades living under the name of Marc Skinner with his family in a house in Uxbridge . There was an angry reaction from legal experts to the amount of time and money that had gone into Rancadore's case. Extradition expert Edward Grange tweeted: 'What a waste of time and money. After two sets of proceedings, Italy no longer seeks extradition of Rancadore.' Mr Grange, who is vice-chair of the Extradition Lawyers' Association, said: 'The purpose of the extradition request was for Rancadore to be returned in order to serve a sentence of imprisonment. 'It transpires that as of October last year the Italians could not actually legally enforce that sentence. 'So certainly from October onwards you would have thought that there would have been some communication from the Italian authorities saying: "Hang on, we may have a problem here and we may not be able to continue with the extradition request". 'Courts proceed on the basis of mutual trust and recognition, that is what we are told throughout in relation to the extradition and European arrest warrant scheme. 'It is something that is designed to be swift and quick and courts are supposed to trust what courts in the requesting state are saying. 'Had the Italians said in October we cannot legally enforce this sentence and we therefore have to withdraw the European arrest warrant, I'm sure our court would have encouraged them to do so as quickly as possible.' Domenico Rancadore, who has lived in Britain for more than 20 years, was given a seven-year sentence by an Italian court in 1999 for being a member of the Cosa Nostra . Asked about the costs of this kind of extradition process, Mr Grange said they were likely to be in the 'single-figure thousands rather than anything dramatic'. Barrister Philip Marshall QC said: 'Yet more incompetence by the CPS in the Rancadore case (allegedly): his seven-year prison sentence expired in October 2014.' There was no answer when reporters knocked on the door of Rancadore's home in Manor Way, Uxbridge, London today. Curtains were closed in all of the windows of the semi-detached house and a Mercedes car was parked on the driveway. One neighbour claimed she was pleased it appeared he was not being extradited because 'you never know who will move in'. She went on: 'He seems a nice chap and it happened a long time ago.' The neighbour said she last saw Rancadore around two weeks ago and he appeared to be suffering from ill-health. A court sketch of  Domenico Rancadore. Today it emerged that the 65-year-old's case expired last October and his European Arrest Warrant is to be withdrawn . Sharon Walker, who also lives nearby, said: 'They were a normal couple before and I'm sure they will go back to being a normal couple. 'They are very quiet. I would not have said they are the most notorious couple in the street. Also known as Cosa Nostra, which translates as 'Our Thing', the Mafia emerged in Sicily in the mid 19th century and is best described as a loose association of criminal groups sharing a common organisational structure and code of conduct. Groups, often known as families or clans, will claim leadership of an area, usually a town or village, and operate rackets within it, using violence to punish those causing problems to their 'clients' - who may well have been coerced into buying protection. Most of the clans are led by a 'boss' (capofamiglia or rappresentante), who is aided by an underboss (capo bastone or sotto capo) and supervised by one or more advisers (consigliere). Only men are allowed to join the clans, and candidates are not allowed to have any links to lawmen such as police officers or judges. It has been estimated that the Sicilian Mafia costs the region's economy more than €10 billion a year, and that roughly 70 per cent of Sicilian businesses pay some sort of protection money. Politicians have also been accused of using the Mafia to buy votes during elections. The American Mafia arose from offshoots of the Cosa Nostra that emerged in the United States during the late nineteenth century, following waves of emigration from Italy. 'He's very quiet. He always has been, even before it all blew up. They are a very quiet family.' Federico Bianchi, head of press at the Italian Embassy, said: 'When, in March 2014, the District Judge denied the extradition of Mr Rancadore to Italy, the Crown Prosecution Service failed to appeal against his decision in the prescribed terms, for which they issued a formal excuse. 'That is key to the release of Mr Rancadore because that loss of time, which obliged Italy to start the procedures afresh, issuing a new European Arrest Warrant, because that year that was lost gave the possibility for the sentence to expire. 'It gave the possibility to Mr Rancadore's lawyers, who are clever and know the penal code very well, to file an application for the sentence to be declared expired.' Mr Bianchi also denied that the hearing in February had been 'useless' because the sentence had not automatically expired until it was confirmed as such by a court in Palermo on March 25. A CPS spokesman said: 'The Italian Ministry of Justice has confirmed that the decision by the Court of Appeal in Palermo is appealable to the Italian Supreme Court. 'It is inaccurate to suggest that a delay due to administrative errors has had a significant bearing on today's outcome. 'Until the European arrest warrant was officially withdrawn today, the CPS acted on behalf of the Italian authorities in these extradition proceedings and had received no instructions to the contrary.' The CPS admitted it had made a mistake by failing to serve appeal papers to Rancadore's lawyers on time in March last year. At the time, Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders acknowledged that, as a result of the error, it was possible Rancadore would never be extradited to Italy.
highlights: Domenico Rancadore given a seven-year sentence by Italian court in 1999 .
  He was convicted for role as a 'man of honour', taking bribes from builders .
  In February the Sicilian Mafia fugitive lost battle against extradition to Italy .
  Today it emerged that the 65-year-old's case expired in October last year .
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