'Endrangeta' Gang Member Who Committed Murder in 1991
Opened Restaurant While on the Run... Also Promoted in Local Newspaper
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyun-jung] An Italian mafia member who committed murder over 30 years ago and lived on the run for more than 16 years was caught in France after opening an Italian restaurant and posing as a chef.
On the 2nd (local time), foreign media and Interpol reported that Edgardo Greco (63), a fugitive from the '’Ndrangheta,' was arrested in France. The ’Ndrangheta, which originated in the Calabria region of Italy, is known as the most powerful mafia organization in Italy and is deeply involved in cocaine trafficking from South America to Europe.
Mafia member Edgardo Greco (63), caught pretending to be an Italian restaurant chef. [Photo by INTERPOL website]
Greco is accused of killing rival gang members Stefano and Giuseppe Bartolomeo by beating them in a fish warehouse in the small city of Cosenza in January 1991, during a mafia gang war. He also attempted to murder another man later that same year but failed.
When an arrest warrant was issued in 2006, Greco suddenly disappeared. He reappeared in Saint-?tienne, a city in central France. Using the alias Paolo Miditrio, named after a criminal from southeastern Italy’s Puglia region, he worked in an Italian restaurant and eventually opened his own restaurant in 2021.
While Greco was in hiding, Italian authorities sentenced him to life imprisonment and issued a European arrest warrant through Europol. Undeterred, he even appeared in local newspapers. In June 2021, as the owner of the Italian restaurant 'Caf? Rossini Ristorante,' he told the local press that his restaurant offered home-style dishes featuring regional specialties such as ravioli, risotto, and tagliatelle. The newspaper described him as "someone born in Italy but who considers Saint-?tienne his hometown at heart."
While enjoying his double life as a chef, the Catanzaro Prosecutor’s Office in Italy, led by Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, continued to pursue him in cooperation with Interpol. Eventually, his identity was uncovered by French police, and he was arrested in Saint-?tienne on the 2nd, ending his more than 16 years on the run.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi applauded the arrest, saying, "I commend this arrest. It demonstrates Italy’s determination to fight all forms of organized crime and to track down dangerous fugitives."
Earlier last week, Italian police announced the dismantling of the ’Ndrangheta organization and the seizure of assets worth over 250 million euros (approximately 336.3 billion KRW). Additionally, Italian prosecutors and police revealed that 56 individuals currently in custody are under investigation for a series of crimes related to the mafia, including extortion, kidnapping, bribery, and illegal possession of weapons.
Meanwhile, last month, Italian police arrested Matteo Messina Denaro, one of the most notorious bosses of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra mafia, who had been on the run for 30 years. The 60-year-old Denaro was captured while visiting a hospital in Palermo, Sicily.
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