Giorgio Ambrosoli
Encyclopedia
Giorgio Ambrosoli was an Italian
lawyer
who was killed while investigating the malpractice of banker Michele Sindona
.
of the Banca Privata Italiana, one of the Italian banks controlled by Sicilian
banker Michele Sindona
, which was forced into liquidation, he found evidences of criminal manipulations. He provided the US Justice Department with evidence to convict Sindona for his role in the collapse of the Franklin National Bank
.
According to Ambrosoli, Sindona paid a US$5.6 million commission to "an American bishop and a Milanese banker." Official Italian sources confirmed that it concerned Paul Marcinkus
, of the Vatican Bank
, and Roberto Calvi
, President of Banco Ambrosiano
.
hitman commissioned by Michele Sindona.
Sindona feared that Ambrosoli would expose his manipulations in the Banca Privata Italiana case. Shortly before he was killed, the American Mafia
hitman William Arico, a convicted bank robber, invoked the name of Giulio Andreotti
– the influential Christian Democrat
politician close to Sindona – in a threathening phone call taped by Ambrosoli . Arico fell to his death while trying to escape from a federal prison in New York in 1984.
In 1986 Sindona was sentenced to life imprisonment for having ordered the murder.
turncoat (pentito
) Francesco Marino Mannoia
, Sindona laundered the proceeds of heroin trafficking for the Bontade
-Spatola-Inzerillo
-Gambino
network. The mafiosi were determined to get their money back and would have played an important role in Sindona's attempt to save his banks.
Ambrosoli was killed shortly after he had a talk with Palermo
Police chief Boris Giuliano
, who discovered cheques and other documents which indicated that Sindona had been recycling the proceeds from heroin sales by the Mafia through the Vatican Bank to his Amincor Bank in Switzerland. Ten days after the killing of Ambrosoli, Giuliano was shot and killed by the Mafia on July 21, 1979.
Ambrosoli was posthumously awarded with a medal for civic heroism. In 1995 a film about him was made, entitled A Middle-Class Hero, directed by Michele Placido
.
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
who was killed while investigating the malpractice of banker Michele Sindona
Michele Sindona
Michele Sindona was an Italian banker and convicted felon. Known in banking circles as "The Shark", Sindona was a member of Propaganda Due , a secret lodge of Italian Freemasonry, and had clear connections to the Mafia...
.
Liquidating Sindona’s financial empire
Appointed by the court as liquidatorLiquidator (law)
In law, a liquidator is the officer appointed when a company goes into winding-up or liquidation who has responsibility for collecting in all of the assets of the company and settling all claims against the company before putting the company into dissolution....
of the Banca Privata Italiana, one of the Italian banks controlled by Sicilian
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
banker Michele Sindona
Michele Sindona
Michele Sindona was an Italian banker and convicted felon. Known in banking circles as "The Shark", Sindona was a member of Propaganda Due , a secret lodge of Italian Freemasonry, and had clear connections to the Mafia...
, which was forced into liquidation, he found evidences of criminal manipulations. He provided the US Justice Department with evidence to convict Sindona for his role in the collapse of the Franklin National Bank
Franklin National Bank
Franklin National Bank, based in Franklin Square in Long Island, New York was once the United States' 20th largest bank. On October 8, 1974, it collapsed in obscure circumstances, involving Michele Sindona, renowned Mafia-banker and member of the irregular freemasonic lodge, Propaganda Due...
.
According to Ambrosoli, Sindona paid a US$5.6 million commission to "an American bishop and a Milanese banker." Official Italian sources confirmed that it concerned Paul Marcinkus
Paul Marcinkus
Paul Casimir Marcinkus was an American archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He was best known for his tenure as President of the Vatican Bank from 1971 through 1989.-Early life:...
, of the Vatican Bank
Vatican Bank
The Institute for Works of Religion , commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a privately held institute located inside Vatican City run by a professional bank CEO who reports directly to a committee of cardinals, and ultimately to the Pope...
, and Roberto Calvi
Roberto Calvi
Roberto Calvi was an Italian banker dubbed "God's Banker" by the press because of his close association with the Holy See. A native of Milan, Calvi was Chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed in one of modern Italy's biggest political scandals...
, President of Banco Ambrosiano
Banco Ambrosiano
Banco Ambrosiano was an Italian bank which collapsed in 1982. At the centre of the bank's failure was its chairman, Roberto Calvi and his membership in the illegal Masonic Lodge Propaganda Due...
.
Murder
On July 11, 1979, only hours after talking to US authorities, he was shot dead by three MafiaMafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
hitman commissioned by Michele Sindona.
Sindona feared that Ambrosoli would expose his manipulations in the Banca Privata Italiana case. Shortly before he was killed, the American Mafia
American Mafia
The American Mafia , is an Italian-American criminal society. Much like the Sicilian Mafia, the American Mafia has no formal name and is a secret criminal society. Its members usually refer to it as Cosa Nostra or by its English translation "our thing"...
hitman William Arico, a convicted bank robber, invoked the name of Giulio Andreotti
Giulio Andreotti
Giulio Andreotti is an Italian politician of the now dissolved centrist Christian Democracy party. He served as the 42nd Prime Minister of Italy from 1972 to 1973, from 1976 to 1979 and from 1989 to 1992. He also served as Minister of the Interior , Defense Minister and Foreign Minister and he...
– the influential Christian Democrat
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
politician close to Sindona – in a threathening phone call taped by Ambrosoli . Arico fell to his death while trying to escape from a federal prison in New York in 1984.
In 1986 Sindona was sentenced to life imprisonment for having ordered the murder.
Mafia involvement in murder
According to the MafiaMafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
turncoat (pentito
Pentito
Pentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations...
) Francesco Marino Mannoia
Francesco Marino Mannoia
Francesco Marino Mannoia is a former member of the Sicilian Mafia who became a pentito in 1989. His nickname was Mozzarella. He is considered to be one of the most reliable government witnesses against the Mafia...
, Sindona laundered the proceeds of heroin trafficking for the Bontade
Stefano Bontade
Stefano Bontade was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Some sources spell his surname Bontate. He was the capomafia of the Santa Maria di Gesù Family in Palermo...
-Spatola-Inzerillo
Salvatore Inzerillo
Salvatore Inzerillo was an Italian criminal, a member of the Sicilian Mafia, also known as Totuccio . He rose to be a powerful boss of Palermo's Passo di Rigano family...
-Gambino
Gambino
Gambino is an Italian surname. Notable persons with that surname include:*Carlo Gambino, New York mobster and former boss of the family that takes his name; Gambino crime family*Emanuel Gambino, New York mobster and nephew of Carlo Gambino...
network. The mafiosi were determined to get their money back and would have played an important role in Sindona's attempt to save his banks.
Ambrosoli was killed shortly after he had a talk with Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
Police chief Boris Giuliano
Boris Giuliano
Giorgio Boris Giuliano was a police chief from Palermo, Sicily. He was the head of Palermo's Flying Squad ....
, who discovered cheques and other documents which indicated that Sindona had been recycling the proceeds from heroin sales by the Mafia through the Vatican Bank to his Amincor Bank in Switzerland. Ten days after the killing of Ambrosoli, Giuliano was shot and killed by the Mafia on July 21, 1979.
Ambrosoli was posthumously awarded with a medal for civic heroism. In 1995 a film about him was made, entitled A Middle-Class Hero, directed by Michele Placido
Michele Placido
Michele Placido is an internationally known Italian actor and director. He is best known for the role of Corrado Cattani in the TV series La Piovra.-Life and career:...
.
Sources
Stajano, Corrado (1995). Un eroe borghese. Il caso dell'avvocato Ambrosoli assassinato dalla mafia politica, Turin: Einaudi, ISBN 978-88-06-17763-8.- Sterling, Claire (1990). Octopus. How the long reach of the Sicilian Mafia controls the global narcotics trade, New York: Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-671-73402-4
- Stille, AlexanderAlexander StilleAlexander Stille is an American author and journalist. He is the son of Ugo Stille, a well-known Italian journalist and a former editor of Italy's Milan-based Corriere della Sera newspaper. Alexander Stille graduated from Yale and later the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism...
(1995). Excellent Cadavers. The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic, New York: Vintage ISBN 0-09-959491-9 Lucarelli, CarloCarlo LucarelliCarlo Lucarelli is an Italian crime-writer, TV presenter, and magazine editor. He was shortlisted for the Gold Dagger in 2003 for the novel Almost Blue.-Biography:...
(2002). Misteri d'Italia. I casi di Blu notte. Turin: Einaudi, ISBN 978-88-06-15445-5.