On this day in 1981 Stefano Bontade, a Sicilian mobster who was the boss of the Santa Maria di Gesù Family in Palermo was machine-gunned down while driving his car back from his 42nd Birthday party. The hitman was said to be part of the Corleonesi, in particular Toto Riina‘s favorite hitman, Pino Greco.
His death would spark an all-out war (The Second Mafia War) that would rage on until 1983, leaving hundreds of mobsters dead.