Directed by Alejandro Ciancio, “The Secret of the Greco Family” is a Mexican crime series that revolves around a psychopathic middle-aged man, Aquiles Greco, who seems to be a weird person with a terrifying outlook on life. Aquiles raised his four children with his wife, Martha. However, some of them can be called partners in crime rather than the children of Aquiles. So, let’s discuss in detail the crimes they have been committing for so long.
Spoilers Ahead
‘The Secret of the Greco Family’ Plot Summary: What Is The Series About?
Andres Greco (played by Manuel Masalva) was a young polo player who had achieved a great deal of success in his sport, but his life of success and luxury did not last long. His father, a retired police officer named Aquiles Greco (played by Fernando Colunga), was planning a large-scale, heinous crime. Aquiles brainwashed him to commit murder and kidnapping so that he could make the world a better place. Aquiles and his other two companions planned to kidnap wealthy people and demand a ransom from their families. But Aquiles could not accomplish this on his own. He needed someone to deliver a wealthy man’s child. So, Aquiles decided to involve Andres in his crime as he knew a lot of rich kids from his polo team. Andres was a normal person, but because of his undying love for his father and his family, he chose the path of crime. He told his father about his close friend, Geal, who was the son of a wealthy businessman. Aquiles, Andres, and Dario (another son of Aquiles) were all involved in the kidnapping together. They followed the pattern of their kidnapping, where Andres asked for a lift in Gael’s car, and Aquiles captured Geal and beat him unconscious. After that, they brought him to their house and hid him in the washroom.
Meanwhile, as Geal found out that Andres was involved in the kidnapping, Aquiles and his crew were compelled to kill him, despite his family paying them a hefty ransom. Aquiles and his two companions then manipulated an old man, Gustavo, into kidnapping his girlfriend’s grandson, Emilio. Gustavo had asked Emilio to buy his property so he could get some money, but Emilio didn’t help him. Therefore, Gustavo ended up supporting Aquiles’ kidnapping plan. Emilio’s wife also paid the ransom, but Emilio’s fate ended up like Gael’s. However, while capturing Emilio, Aquiles committed another accidental murder. Hugo, an investigating crime officer, and his wife, Lupe, were involved in a fight. Lupe came to stay at Aquiles’ house for a while, as she was a very close friend of Aquiles’ wife, Martha. But Lupe discovered Emilio locked up in the basement. Therefore, Aquiles had to kill her to get rid of any eyewitnesses. He killed Lupe and misled Hugo’s investigation to find the killer. Hugo heard from Martha that Lupe was having an affair with his tennis trainer, Miguel. Aquiles convinced Hugo that Miguel killed Lupe and committed suicide. All of this was arranged by Aqulies when he murdered Miguel and erased all the traces so that it would look like he had killed himself. Thereafter, they fixed the target, which was Murat, the owner of another big shoe company. However, they killed Murat accidentally while knocking him unconscious. Behind all of these was the mastermind, Aquiles, whose accomplices were his two sons, Andres and Dario, and his two crime partners. Besides, Aquiles made Gustavo his own partner as well because he was easy to victimize since he was also an equal accomplice in Emilio’s kidnapping and murder.
The mystery of this murder and kidnapping was confined only to Aquiles and his two sons. Martha, and Aquiles’ two daughters, Abril and Sabrina, knew nothing of this. But they had also possessed secrets. Sabrina (played by Samantha Siqueiros) was a homosexual whose lover was the nun who used to come to visit her. Also, Abril (played by Roberta Damián) was hiding her first love too because it was Aquiles’ partner, Lozano, with whom she was having her secret affair. Lozano, who repeatedly tried to approach Abril, finally had to back down under the threat of Aquiles, despite Abril wanting to be with him.
How Did The Greco Family Get Caught?
Aquiles and his partners decide to kidnap a woman who used to work at a mortuary and had worked for the government before. With the help of Gustavo, they kidnapped her, but they mistook it when the woman disclosed to them that she was not rich. Even if her sons sold everything, they would never be able to meet Aquiles’ ransom money. Meanwhile, the mortuary lady’s two sons sought the help of the police from the beginning. Hugo, as a crime investigator, kept track of all the ransom calls that Aquiles sent. Already, Hugo had learned that Aquiles’ partner, Lozano, was actually a criminal who had previously been arrested by Aquiles. But, three years later, after being injured by a gunshot during a raid, Aquiles was discharged from crime brunch. When Hugo saw that the criminal Lozano was now Aquiles’ partner, he was a little surprised but did not want to suspect him at all. When Hugo’s assistant cop went undercover to investigate Aquiles’ house, Aquiles captured and murdered him with the help of Dario. Finally, Aquiles made a mistake. He hired Gustavo, but he didn’t pay him well, so Gustavo decided to confess everything to the police. He arrived at a funeral and got caught by Hugo. He was afraid and revealed Aquiles’ dirty deeds. Hugo was very close to Aquiles’ family, and he was quite shocked to hear the news. He sent his team to search the Greco family’s house and rescue the mortuary lady from the basement. When all the evidence was against Aquiles, Hugo was compelled to arrest the whole family.
What Happened to Andres? Was He Innocent?
Aquiles and Dario enjoyed their dirty game of kidnapping and murder. But Andres initially was not like them. Andres was brainwashed by Aquiles, whose half-baked communist ideology intrigued him. Andres never wanted to kill Geal or anybody, but he had to get involved in the murder against his will. Although there was a way for him to come out of this hell and confess everything to the police, he could not take that step, fearing that he would lose his family. Gradually, he accepted his fate because he knew that he could not escape the dark shadow of his father and his brother, even if he wanted to. The pressure was slowly driving him insane. He started to blame his father, but he was helpless to get out of this. Finally, unable to bear the burden of this sin, he decided to reveal himself to their last kidnapping victim, the mortuary lady. When the entire Greco family was finally arrested, the mortuary lady probably identified Andres and his father as the main culprits, as she only saw the faces of those two. Eventually, the entire Greco family, including Dario, was acquitted, except for Aquiles and Andres. Andres couldn’t handle this shock because Dario was much more guilty than he was. Andres was furious and attempted to kill Aquiles in a fit of rage but failed. Finally, when Andres was given a life sentence, he committed suicide by swallowing the blade to free himself from the guilt and trauma of being imprisoned. Perhaps, Andres did not deserve this punishment, but he would have been freed from this pain long ago if he had confessed his father’s crime to the police. So, he was guilty even indirectly because he was involved with the crime. As we all know that neither the one who commits the crime nor the one who propagates it is innocent.
‘The Secret of the Greco Family’ Ending Explained: What Was Aquiles’ Motive to Commit the Crimes? Was He Dead Or Alive?
Aquiles Greco was nothing but a psychopath. His ideology was to loot money from the rich because rich people were greedy and selfish. He believed that they did not think about their families or other people in this world. Although this ideology may sound a bit communist, it was actually Aquiles’ manipulation game. Aquiles himself wanted to be a rich man, so he kidnapped rich people’s family members and demanded a huge ransom from them. In fact, he used to grab most of the ransom and pay his partners a little share of it. He involved his own sons in this scheme so that he could get a substantial amount of the money. In fact, Aquiles could not handle the shock of being discharged from his department, so he went against the very law he used to protect. According to him, he was an invincible and powerful man who was beyond anyone’s grasp. Additionally, he was an intelligent person with the power to make each of his crimes perfect and unproven. Finally, he made the mistake of including Gustavo, who had snitched on him. Therefore, finally, Aquiles is caught by the police, and his secret comes out in front of everyone. Aquiles and Andres were sentenced to life in prison. Andres committed suicide, leaving his father all alone to share his guilt with nobody. We see Aquiles mourning the loss of his child. Finally, in 2008, Aquiles Greco died, possibly in prison or by suicide. He was buried without his wife, daughter, or son by his side. This vile monster, whose friends and sons were present when he committed his crime, died in utter solitude.
Final Words
The Mexican series is based on the true story of the Puccio Clan, an insane family from Argentina. We anticipate the series will be limited because it is based on the true crimes of the Puccio Clan. Though the series was entertaining to watch, the repetitive kidnaps and killings weren’t able to hold our attention for long. The narrative was quite predictable and that is why it wasn’t able to have the desired impact or invoke any sort of emotions. So, we admire the series for making a good attempt, but it turned out to be a bland drama more than being an intimidating crime thriller.
“The Secret of the Greco Family” is a 2022 Drama Thriller series directed by Alejandro Ciancio.
