Footage aired by Italian broadcaster RAI shows Anton Refalo saying he does not know who Salvatore ‘Toto’ Riina is when approached by a journalist outside a Gozo property he leases.The footage, broadcast on Lo Stato Delle Cose, follows reports earlier this week linking the Qala residence to the late Mafia boss, claims which Refalo has already publicly denied.In the recording, the minister is seen being questioned at the entrance of the property. When asked about Riina, he responds: “I do not know who that is.”He is then asked about how long he has held the property, replying: “Why do you want to know?” before the journalist identifies himself.Refalo goes on to say he does not know when he took over the residence and states he is unaware of whether Riina ever stayed there.The footage builds on earlier reporting by Italian media, including La Stampa, which alleged that Riina had used a seafront villa in Qala as a hideout during the 1980s.Refalo has rejected those claims, stating he never owned the property and entered into a lease agreement in 2002, nine years after Riina’s arrest in 1993.Lovin Malta has reviewed documentation related to the property which supports this timeline.Records show the house was last sold in 1979 to an Italian national, while the 2002 lease agreement required Refalo to pay annual rent and undertake restoration works on the property, which was described as being in a dilapidated state at the time. The owner was represented by a legal proxy.Riina, who died in 2017, was widely regarded as one of Sicily’s most powerful Mafia bosses, leading the Corleonesi organisation during a violent period marked by attacks on the Italian state, including the killings of prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.Did you know Toto Riina was in a regular in Gozo?•