Domenico Rancadore

After he moved to England in 1993, Rancadore opened a travel agency with his wife.^{[citation needed]} While English authorities were aware that Rancadore was in London they were unable to arrest him because, unlike Italy, in England, Mafia association is not a crime.^[6] Italian authorities asked for his extradition to Italy in January 2012, which was denied by the British authorities.^[4][5] According to Vittorio Teresi from the prosecution office in Palermo: "The crime of Mafia association is not recognised in the British legal system. The extradition request was not even considered."^[5]

Rancadore was arrested on 7 August 2013 in Manor Waye, Uxbridge, London.^[2] When he saw the police, he left his house via a back door in an attempt to escape^[1] but was apprehended by a waiting policeman.^[7] After he was captured, a new arrest warrant was made, as Rancadore's lawyers claimed that the previous warrant contained "significant deficiencies".^[2] Rancadore was arrested following a European arrest warrant being issued.^[8]

Rancadore was denied bail by a judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court and had an extradition hearing set for 25 November 2013.^[2] Gaetano Lima, a past member of the mafia turned informer, described Rancadore as dangerous.^{[citation needed]} The representative for the defense questioned whether Rancadore was a leader in the Mafia.^[9]

On February 28, 2014, the extradition hearing was adjourned until Monday March 17,^[10] when it was determined at Westminster Magistrates' Court that Rancadore would not be extradited back to Italy. District judge Howard Riddle said a recent decision of the Administrative Court, which binds lower courts in England, led to his decision.^[11]

Rancadore raised concerns that if he was extradited back to Italy, he would be killed by the Mafia.^[8] Rancadore reportedly said that "I’m not going back, they’ll kill me".^[8][12]