FLASH
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Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a 71-year-old former mafia boss on a motorway near Grenoble in southeastern France.
Jean-Pierre Maldera, described by French media as the "Godfather" of the local mafia in the 1980s, was reportedly followed while driving his car and shot on the A41 motorway on Wednesday morning.
The attackers fled the scene and the burnt remains of the stolen Renault Megane they were driving were found in a car park in Grenoble a short time later.
His death comes ten years after the disappearance of his younger brother, Robert Maldera, another mafia boss who is said to be known as "the madman" by members of the Grenoble underworld.
Regional newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré reported that Maldera abandoned the BMW he was driving and tried to escape on foot across the highway.
He was chased and killed by assailants in the attack that involved three or four gunmen, local media said.
They reportedly used a military-grade weapon, such as a Kalashnikov rifle, to carry out the murder.
Maldera is reported to have been a key figure in the so-called "Italo-Grenoblois" mafia group during the 1980s and 1990s, along with his brother Robert.
In 2004, the pair were found guilty of a number of offences related to organised crime, although they were acquitted the following year due to an administrative error, according to French media.
However, this was not the first time Maldera had been convicted, however Maldera appeared to have chosen a quieter life after his release from prison in the early 2000s, with the AFP news agency reporting that authorities heard nothing more from him until he was shot this week.
It is not clear whether Maldera was still involved in criminal activity at the time of his death.
His brother Robert disappeared in 2015 at the age of 55. He disappeared after attending a meeting on the outskirts of Grenoble. His car was discovered two months later in a nearby parking lot. A source who had investigated the Maldera brothers told France 3 that Jean-Pierre had been the mastermind behind their schemes, while Robert was the implementer.
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