Violent deaths in Marseilles

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33191, 3 April 1973, Page 15

Violent deaths in Marseilles

CN.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

MARSEILLES, April 2.

A former convict of Corsican origin was fatally wounded yesterday after gangsters had sprayed his hired car with bullets from automatic weapons in the heart of Marseilles. His murderers escaped.

Jean-Baptiste Rossi, aged 44, was the fifth person to be killed in gangster-style murders in France’s secondlargest city within 24 hours. Four persons, including a barmaid, were killed on Saturday night, when three men opened fire on a crowded bar facing the old port. Two other occupants of the bar were critically hurt. No trace of the killers was found. Two of them who died had long criminal records, including convictions for armed robbery, drug trafficking, and procuring. Rossi was released from prison only five days ago, after serving a sentence for robbery and receiving stolen goods. Earlier yesterday, the Marseilles police announced the

arrest of two men who have been charged with operating a heroin factory in a suburban villa. Christian Simonpieri and Joseph Fabiano were arrested after a month-long police surveillance. A stock of morphine base, 3.31 b of pure heroin, and laboratory equipment were seized.

The police say that they do not believe there was any link between the arrests and the killings.