Notorious Italian cop, 'monster face,' dies at beach

CATANZARO - Giovanni Aiello, otherwise known as ‘monster face’ died at the beach at 71 in his home of Calabria, collapsing to the ground in the middle of shocked holiday goers as he was trying to bring his boat onto shore. The former policeman was thought to be linked to mafia clan Cosa Rostra suspected of the most fierce crimes - including fellow policeman Nino Agostina’s murder at Villagrazia di Carini, as well as playing some part in the Capaci and Via d’Amelio bombings in the 1990s.
 
 He felt ill at the beach, and died as a tourist, caught in a plague among the other bathers. The former police officer for Palermo’s mobile team has been at the centre of the judicial chronicles of recent years with a defamatory accusation. It is believed he took at least four bribes. Nicknamed ‘monster face’ because of his dark character and the scar on his face, which he always maintained was the result of an accident, he probably suffered from a heart attack.
 
 Aiello’s lawyers Eugenio Battaglia and Ugo Custo said: ‘Giovanni Aiello has died innocent, for months the Palermo’s Prosecutor has filed for his investigations. Aiello's family, after years of suffering, does not deserve to be put through any further act of gossip.’ Aiello always denied any involvement with the mafia.
 
 An autopsy has been arranged. 
 
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