Who was Michele Mastropietro, the brigadier killer: a long criminal parable ended up in a farmhouse

The end of Michele Mastropietro, 57 years oldarrives on a warm June morning, between the dry stone walls and the olive trees of a farm on the outskirts of Grottaglie. There, After a last firefight with the police, the serial robber is struck mortally. It is the conclusion of a tragic and violent story that began a few hours earlier in Francavilla Fontana, where the chief brigadier of the carabinieri Carlo Legrottaglie loses his life on duty.

Born and raised in Carosino, a small town in the province of Taranto, Mastropietro had built a criminal reputation around him: plans planned with a military method, well organized escapes, none scrupulous in the use of weapons. Not only a thief, but an integral part of an active criminal partnership Among the provinces of Taranto, Brindisi and Lecce, dedicated to hitting above all commercial activities and ports.

In 2013 he was among the protagonists of the failed assault on a van from the Swabiapol In the Monteiasi countryside. A blow that, if successful, would have yielded over one and a half million euros. On that occasion The law enforcement officers managed to intervene in time, and the outcome was a gunfight. Mastropietro was arrested, tried and sentenced for criminal association and attempted robbery: nine years and two months in prison, a sentence that served entirely.

Back free, Mastropietro resumes moving in the area with the same old scheme: stolen cars, silent complicity, targeted inspections. The Lancia y on which it was located on June 12 with the countryside Camillo Giannattasio, uncensored, had been stolen from Locorotondo less than a month earlier. To suspect the carabinieri, that day, is a risky reversal made in the center of Francavilla Fontana. After the not respected alt, the pursuit starts and then a shooting. The brigadier Carlo Legrottaglie is hit and killed. The two flee.

It starts like this The last race of Michele Mastropietro: with Giannattasio he abandons the car, continues on foot, crosses countryside and secondary roads For hours, up to the gates of Grottaglie. They try to hide in a farm. But now the hunt is open: carabinieri and police have surrounded the area.

The agents of the State Police find them. As soon as they approach, the two men open the fire, and the agents respond. In the conflict over fire Mastropietro is killed.

Camillo Giannattasio is arrested. For investigators, his role in the shooting is still to be clarified. The investigations also continue to understand if the two were aimed at hitting again.

Those who knew Mastropietro in Tarantino tells of a man who had never really left crime. A life on the run and in permanent conflict with the police. No turns, no real reintegration after detention.

The brigadier Carlo Legrottaglie, 59 years old, would have retired today: He was considered “a good giant”, loved by colleagues and esteemed by the whole community. Leave a wife and two daughters.