Italian general, distinguished for his fight against the Red Brigade. As a result of his dangerous investigations, Dalla Chiesa was killed by terrorists in Palermo on 9/03/1982 on his way home from work.
Dalla Chiesa entered the police as a young man and in the Second World War became a captain. In 1949 he arrived in Corleone, in Sicily, where he began inquiries into a series of mafia attacks. He was soon transferred to other Italian cities, then returning again to Sicily where he commanded the Carabinieri legion of Palermo from 1966 to 1973. Promoted to general as commando of the region, in 1974 he was placed in charge of coordinating the fight against mafia terrorism. During his investigations, Dalla Chiesa revealed that banks were laundering money for the mob. When he came too close to the upper echelon, he received a warning call from a government minister but three months later, when he continued his investigation, he was assassinated. His wife, Emmanuela, was supportive in spite of the danger, but she died of a heart attack from the stress. They had a son, Nando.
Dalla Chiesa’s assassination provoked intense moral outrage among Sicilians and a determination to bring his killers to justice. The movie “Cento Giorni a Palermo,” 1984, told his story with Lino Ventura in the title role. In an eloquent statement of support for his efforts to combat the Mafia, a long list of sponsors for this film – including local organizations both inside and outside the government, anti-drug groups, and organizations in the cinematic field among many others, were listed in the closing credits. The power of the underworld was still evident on 10/22/2001 when, in spite of cries of protest, a bill presented by Italy’s governing coalition passed into law, a motion that made it harder for magistrates to obtain criminal evidence from abroad.
Link to Wikipedia biography