Career
He was assassinated by the Mafia in Palermo. Born in Saluzzo, Cuneo, he became commandant of the (military) region of Piemonte-Valle d"Aosta in 1974 and created an anti-terrorism structure in Turin, which succeeded in capturing in September 1974 Red Brigades members Renato Curcio and Alberto Franceschini, with the help of Silvano Girotto, also known as frate mitra ("Machine Gun Friar"), who infiltrated the organisation. On May 1, 1982, Dalla Chiesa was appointed as prefect for Palermo to stop the violence of the Second Mafia War.
He was murdered in Palermo on September 3, 1982, on the orders of Mafia boss Salvatore Riina.
The lead killer was Giuseppe Greco, who was later convicted in absentia of the crime at the Maxi Trial. A number of other gunmen were involved, including twenty-one-year-old Giuseppe Lucchese, who was also convicted of the crime at the Maxi Trial.
Riina and various other Mafia bosses, such as Benedetto Santapaola, were subsequently convicted for ordering the killing. Dalla Chiesa was also investigating the death of Mauro de Mauro, a journalist who had himself been investigating the murder of Enrico Mattei, head of Agip, the Italian oil company.
In the foreword of the Argentine National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons report on the Argentine Dirty War, Dalla Chiesa was cited as having rejected the use of torture in Italy in response to the kidnapping of Aldo Moro, the former prime minister killed by the Red Brigades in 1978.
In response to a suggestion that torture be used in the investigation, Dalla Chiesa stated, "Italy can survive the loss of Aldo Moro. lieutenant would not survive the introduction of torture.".
