How Many People Did Mafioso Giuseppe 'Pino' Greco Really Kill?
From its origin in 19th century Sicily to as recently as 2020 per CBC, the Italian Mafia and its foreign offshoots have been as inextricably intertwined with assassination as they have been with burglary, alcohol and drug trafficking, gambling, money laundering, and many other illicit industries (via History). While for most Americans it might seem that the streets of 1920s New York or Chicago were the bloodiest environments involving the Mafia, the organization acted with comparable brutality into the 1980s and '90s (via Britannica).
Their single most prolific killer on either side of the Atlantic was born in 1952 Sicily. Giuseppe "Pino" Greco grew up to become a relatively decent student before joining the Greco Mafia clan. While he was a purported murderer before it began, Greco really got his start as a serial killer during the Second Mafia War, where he was posthumously convicted of killing 58 people. However, that number could be even higher, with anywhere from 80 to 300 people having been potentially killed by him (via Italy On This Day).
Greco's brutality was unprecedented for the Mafia
Giuseppe Greco had no scruples when it came to whom he killed. Powerful Mafia rivals were of course among his targets, yet he also often broke precedent by killing victims' family members, law enforcement, and politicians with practically no moderation (per Criminal Minds Wiki). One of his most influential killings was that of Italian General Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa. The general was purportedly involved in the deadly Years of Lead — a period of violent terrorism by far-right and far-left elements, per The Economist. Greco reportedly shot Chiesa alongside his wife and bodyguard after the general was appointed Italy's head of counterterrorism (per Italy On This Day).
In one instance, he brutally mutilated and executed the son of Salvatore Inzerillo, a Mafia boss and another victim of Greco. In another, he killed police magistrate Rocco Chinnici and three others with a car bomb. Two years after the Second Mafia War's conclusion, his tendencies led the higher-ups to become fed up with him, and according to All That's Interesting, Mafia leader Salvatore Riina supposedly ordered Greco's death. In spite of this, the assassin was still brought to trial, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison.