Despite the million-lira bounty placed on his head by the Fascists [6] with the help of forged papers and his many friends he was able to evade capture and was nicknamed the Jewish Scarlet Pimpernel.
[7] He improved the system used by Delasem for fabricating false ID cards[8] using headed official notepaper from various local authorities in southern Italy that had been liberated by the Allies, and found an engraver who could manufacture rubber stamps for authorising documents.
[9] With Fr Francesco Repetto's help he succeeded in bringing to Genoa and thence to Switzerland many Jews who had fled from France in the area of Borgo San Dalmazzo following the withdrawal of Italian troops after 8 September 1943.
In 1944 Teglio moved to Milan, staying in his house under false papers and working as his chauffeur, as Malcovati had many cars and lorries with German permits.
In this way he could distribute Delasem funds to people hiding Jews whilst delivering cheese and butter [13] Thanks to Fr Repetto he was able to hide his daughter Nicoletta in the Sacred Heart convent at Sturla;[14] he protected his parents, and his sisters Laura and Emma with her husband Bruno Debenedetti and their sons Franco and Sergio, keeping them hidden at Morbello in Piedmont in a country property that belonged to a retired policeman,[15][16] whilst his sister Margherita, together with her husband Achille Vitale and their young children Claudio and Lia Vitale were arrested on 5 November 1943 at Montecatini, deported, and killed at Auschwitz [17] He saved the family business from compulsory aryanisation, changing its name to Copeco, and transferring ownership to his Catholic daughter, and naming as business manager Giorgio Parodi, an important Genoese businessman and his friend at the Aeroclub [18] Massimo Teglio's actions were recorded in the book Benevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian Jewish Families Under Fascism by Alexander Stille; the chapter "The Rabbi, the Priest and the Aviator: A Story of Rescue in Genoa", was made the subject of the Canale 5 film Fuga per la Libertà – l’aviatore, where he was played by Sergio Castellitto, which was broadcast on 25 January 2008.