 Mr Colonna's car plunged into a ravine and burst into flames |
The man suspected of being Corsica's last mafia "godfather" has died in a car crash on the French Mediterranean island, police said. Witnesses said the car carrying Jean-Baptiste Colonna swerved into a ravine and burst into flames.
Mr Colonna rejected the description of crime boss. He was never jailed despite convictions going back to the French Connection heroin smuggling ring.
French police say he may have had a heart attack at the wheel. He was 67.
A French parliamentary commission identified him as Corsica's godfather of organised crime in 1998.
Mr Colonna was convicted in 1978 for involvement in the network that smuggled heroin to the United States via Marseille in the 1950s and '60s - the French Connection.
But the case was eventually thrown out on appeal and after 10 years on the run in South America he returned to Corsica.
An autopsy is to be carried on Thursday to determine the cause of death, a Corsican prosecutor told AFP news agency.
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
