- "Fifteen years ago, one of the wealthiest mafia families in Gotham was gunned down. It was a power grab, but the real target was the Bertinellis' super-secret offshore bank accounts."
- ―Harley Quinn[src]
The Bertinelli Massacre was the execution of nearly every member of the Bertinelli Crime Family orchestrated by Stefano Galante under the orders of Roman Sionis.
Background[]
Roman Sionis was a powerful criminal in Gotham City known as Black Mask and desired to consolidate his power. As the Bertinelli Crime Family were his biggest rivals in Gotham City, he desired their deaths and to gain control over Gotham's criminal underworld. He also sought the Bertinelli family's wealth and fortune to further accomplish his goals.[1]
Massacre[]
Stefano Galante and other agents of Sionis rounded up the members of the Bertinelli family in the Bertinelli mansion, including Franco Bertinelli, Maria Bertinelli and Helena Bertinelli. Among one of the Sionis shooters was serial killer Victor Zsasz. They shot and killed the entire Bertinelli family, with the exception of young Helena. Though she was forced to witness her family's death, she was spared and spirited away to Italy by one of the gangsters to be raised by his father and brother.[1]
Aftermath[]
While the massacre had the desired effect of consolidating Black Mask's power, it would, in the long term, be the undoing of him and his organization. While in Italy, Helena Bertinelli underwent intensive training, determined to get revenge for her family's slaughter. She re-emerged over fifteen years later, going by the name of "Huntress" and wielding a crossbow pistol. She sought out and killed each of those who had slain her family, before finally teaming up with Harley Quinn, Cassandra Cain, Renee Montoya and Dinah Lance to take Sionis down.[1]