lawyer Torrisi (Sebastiano Lo Monaco). Events take a surprising turn, as the baron tries to get rid of his wife with the help of his "cousin". An accident is staged, and later two charred bodies are found in a burned-out car wreck at the foot of a mountain. The police assume that it is Baron and Baroness Altamura. In reality, Barbara is rescued by the lovestruck mafioso Turi Mondello (Tony Sperandeo), who then holds her captive. The bodies from the crash are later identified as being Francesco Altamura and his lover. A violent power struggle develops between Mondello and Torrisi, with Mondello eventually coming out triumphant after a bloody massacre at a wedding party. Arcuti manages to free the baroness and put Mondello behind bars, but he doesn't survive his success for long, as a hit is put out on him and he is crushed to death by an automobile. The local judiciary closes the investigation against the Mafia despite overwhelming evidence but a young judicial assessor, witnessing the investigator's cowardly retreat, promises Barbara Altamura that he will continue Carlo Arcuti's work. Season ten Season 10, which appeared in 2001, picked up from the end of season 7 and completed the series. After the 8th and 9th seasons, it was initially unclear whether another one would be made. Producer Sergio Silva spoke of a "creative crisis". It turned out that it was difficult to pick up the thread again after the flashback to the 50s and 60s, while maintaining continuity within the series. There was also some amount of political resistance to the continuation of the show, and the final season of La Piovra lost its pride of place on Rai's premier channel Rai Uno by being relegated to secondary sister channel Rai Due. The number of viewers, at around 4 million, remained below the usual average. Luigi Perelli returned to direct the final chapter of the series, and the screenplay was written by producer Sergio Silva, with Mimmo Rafele and Piero Bodrato; the soundtrack was again composed by Ennio Morricone. The season begins with Professor Ottavio Ramonte (Rolf Hoppe), head of the Mafia-affiliated Thule secret society, being acquitted on appeal. Investigative judge Silvia Conti (Patricia Millardet) watches Ramonte giving his first television interview on the steps of the courthouse, in which he openly threatens his enemies. Conti, who had put Ramonte behind bars in the seventh season, is meanwhile