ROME—An assassin of the notorious ‘Ndrangheta of Calabria Mafia was arrested while working in a pizzeria in France After nearly 17 years of hiding. Edgardo Greco, 63, was arrested Thursday in the French village of Saint-Etienne, where he rose to fame as an “authentic Italian pizza maker” using the pseudonym Paolo Dimitrio.
The arrest, backed by Interpol, was hailed in Italy as another anti-mafia success following the arrest of Sicilian cartel boss Cosa Nostra in January. Matteo Messina Denaro, who has been on the run for 30 years. Greco denied his identity and was taken into custody, unlike Denaro, who admitted his name when approached at a cancer clinic in Palermo on January 16.
Greco was convicted in absentia in the late 1990s for the murders of Stefano and Giuseppe Bartolomeo, brothers of a rival Calabrese gang that he allegedly beat to death with a crowbar and dismembered their bodies in acid. He was also accused of conspiring to kill another bandit, Emiliano Mosciarat, and several prison guards, earning him the dubious nickname of the “prison killer”.
He was arrested after he was introduced under an alias for his keen pizza-making skills in a local French newspaper in 2019. His alias is the name of a notorious robber from Puglia, the alleged intruder leading to the anti-mafia police. in Italy track him down after prosecutor Nicola Gratteri investigates the rise of the bandit Puglia.
Greco’s arrest was made possible with the support of Interpol’s I-CAN unit, which works to share information about the activities of the Calabria ‘Ndrangheta criminal organization in Europe. After his alias and hidden identity were corroborated, secret agents are said to have gone to the pizzeria to obtain DNA evidence to confirm his identity.
Interpol secretary general Jurgen Stock said: “No matter how fugitives try to lead a peaceful life abroad, they cannot evade justice forever.” “Dedicated officers around the world will always ensure that justice is served.”
‘Ndrangheta is considered one of the world’s largest and most dangerous criminal groups, operating on every continent and tied to the cocaine trade between Europe and South America.
