Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a 71-year-old former Mafia boss on a highway near Grenoble in southeastern France.
Jean Pierre Mardera, described by French media in the 1980s as the “godfather” of the local mafia, was reportedly chased and shot in a car while climbing the A41 highway on Wednesday morning.
The shooters escaped from the scene and the burnt-out ruins of the stolen Renault Glasses car they were driving were soon discovered in a parking lot in Grenoble.
His death comes ten years after the disappearance of his younger brother, Robert Mardera.
Local newspaper Ledauphiné Libéré reported that he left the BMW where Maldera was driving and attempted to escape on foot across the highway.
According to local media, he was chased and killed by an attacker in an attack that included three or four gunmen.
They are reportedly used military-grade weapons such as the Kalashniko Frifur to carry out the killings.
Mardera, along with his brother Robert, is reported to be a key figure in the so-called “Italologrenoblova” mafia group in the 1980s and 1990s.
In 2004, the pair were found guilty of a series of crimes related to organized crime, but according to French media, it was released the following year due to administrative errors.
However, this was not the first time Mardera has been convicted. According to French Regional Media Outlet France 3, he had a rap sheet dating back to the 1970s.
However, Mardera appears to have chosen to live a quieter life after being released from prison in the early 2000s, and AFP news agency reported that he had not heard of him again until this week’s shooting.
It is not clear whether Mardera was still involved in criminal activities at the time of his death.
His brother Robert disappeared in 2015 at the age of 55.
He went missing after attending a meeting outside Grenoble. His car was found two months later in a nearby parking lot.
Sources investigating the Mardera brothers told France 3 that Jean Pierre was the brain behind their plans, but Robert was Bloan.
