Today, Milan is considered a fashion capital. But in the 1970s and 1980s, Milan was Italy’s number one crime capital. During this period, various gangs fought bitter turf wars. One of these gangsters was Francis Turatello, also known as Angel Face. He was rumored to be the biological son of US mafia boss Frank Coppola. Francis Turatello was born to a seamstress in the province of Vicenza. In early childhood, his mother moved with him to the outskirts of Milan. As a teenager, he kept his head above water with amateur boxing matches and petty car theft. Thanks to his ambition, he quickly rose through the ranks of Milan’s underworld and founded his own gang, which consisted of immigrants from Catania and Sicily. In the 1970s, Francis Turatello and his gang managed to control most of the illegal gambling dens and prostitution. He is also said to have been involved in the kidnapping and murder of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro and in crimes committed by the Banda della Magliana. Turatello had a fierce feud with another gangster legend, Renato Vallanzasca, better known as the handsome Rene. However, during their time in prison together, a close friendship developed, culminating in Turatello even becoming the best man at Vallanzasca’s prison wedding to Giuliana Brusa. After Turatello’s long escape, he was arrested in 1981 in Piazza Cordusio in Milan and sentenced to a very long prison term. But even in prison, he managed to coordinate his criminal activities. However, his protégé Angelo Epaminonda replaced him as gangster boss. Then the impossible happened. On August 17, 1981, Francis Turatello was attacked by Pasquale Barra, Vincenzo Andraous, Salvatore Maltese, and Antonio Faro during open yard exercise at Badu’e Carros, the high-security prison in Nuoro. Turatello was held down by Barra and Andraous while Faro and Maltese stabbed him 60 times. This murder took place without the consent of the Sicilian Mafia, as Turatello was considered their protégé. It was not possible to determine who ordered the killing. Francis Turatello was buried in the cemetery of Monza. Thus ended the life of the former gangster legend Francis Turatello.
The gangster boss Francis Turatello
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