Spatuzza himself was arrested in July 1997. On 14 April 1998, Spatuzza, Nino Mangano, Cosimo Lo Nigro and Luigi Giacalone received life sentences for the killing of father Puglisi. He was also convicted for the murder of the young son of state witness Santino Di Matteo, Giuseppe, who had been kidnapped and killed after 779 days in a failed attempt to force the father to retract his testimony on the killing of Antimafia judge Giovanni Falcone. At the trial, Spatuzza had also asked Giuseppe Di Matteo's family for forgiveness. In 2012, Spatuzza himself was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in the murder.