In 2002, Bagarella had protested about his treatment under the Article 41-bis prison regime law that placed heavy restrictions on jailed Mafia bosses to prevent them from running their criminal empires from behind bars. At a court appearance that June, Bagarella made some thinly veiled threats to the Italian government, saying the Mafia is "tired of being exploited, humiliated, oppressed and used like goods exchanged among the various political forces." Some interpreted this as a sign the Mafia was annoyed that its previously cozy relationship with politicians had broken down, speculating about Mafia bosses having been in some sort of clandestine negotiations with politicians. In 2005, he launched boiling oil against an 'Ndrangheta boss prisoner, leading to a further one year sentence. Following the violence, he was transferred to a prison in Parma.