Roberto Calvi.

Roberto Calvi (Milan, 13 April 1920 – London, 17 June 1982) was an Italian banker dubbed by the press as "God's Banker", due to his close association with the Vatican. A native of Milan, Calvi was the chairman of Banco Ambrosiano which collapsed in one of modern Italy's biggest political scandals, and his death in London in June 1982 has been the source of enduring controversy. Calvi's death was ruled as murder after two coroner's inquests and an independent investigation, and in June 2007 five people were acquitted of his murder after a trial in Rome. Image File history File links Calvi. ... Image File history File links Calvi. ... is the 103rd day of the year (104th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... (Redirected from 17 June) June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see Milan (disambiguation). ... Banco Ambrosiano was an Italian bank which collapsed spectacularly in 1982. ... A coroner is either the presiding officer of a special court, a medical officer, or an officer of law responsible for investigating deaths, particularly those happening under unusual circumstances. ... An inquest is a formal process of state investigation. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5...

Claims have been made that Calvi's death involved the Vatican Bank (Banco Ambrosiano's main shareholder), the Mafia (which may have used Banco Ambrosiano for money laundering), and the Propaganda Due or P2 masonic lodge. The Vatican Bank is a common name given to the Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR) or Institute for Religious Works, the central bank for the Roman Catholic Church located in Vatican City. ... The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra), is an Italian criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. ... This box:      Propaganda Due or P2 was an irregular or black Masonic lodge that operated in Italy from 1877-1981, headed in its final decades by Licio Gelli. ... This box:      Propaganda Due or P2 was an irregular or black Masonic lodge that operated in Italy from 1877-1981, headed in its final decades by Licio Gelli. ...

The Banco Ambrosiano scandal

Roberto Calvi was the chairman of Italy's second largest private bank, Banco Ambrosiano, when it went bankrupt in 1982. In 1978 the Bank of Italy produced a report on Banco Ambrosiano which found that several billion lire had been exported illegally, and this led to criminal investigations. In 1981 Calvi was put on trial and given a four year suspended sentence and a $19.8 million fine for taking $27 million out of the country in violation of Italian currency laws. He was released on bail pending an appeal and kept his position at the bank. During his short spell in jail he attempted suicide. Calvi's family maintain that he had been manipulated by others and that he was innocent of the crimes attributed to him.^[1] Banco Ambrosiano was an Italian bank which collapsed spectacularly in 1982. ... Headquarters Rome Established 1893 Governor Mario Draghi Central Bank of Italy Website bancaditalia. ...

The controversy surrounding Calvi's dealings at Banco Ambrosiano was the echo of a previous scandal in 1974, when the Holy See lost an estimated $30 million as a result of the collapse of the Franklin National Bank, which was owned by the Sicilian-born financier Michele Sindona. Bad loans and foreign currency transactions had led to the collapse of the bank, and Sindona later died in prison after drinking coffee laced with cyanide.^[2] Franklin National Bank, based in Franklin Square in Long Island, New York was once the United States 20th largest bank. ... Michele Sindona (died 1986) was an Italian banker and convicted felon. ... The cyanide ion, CN−. From the top: 1. ...

On 5 June 1982, two weeks before the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano, Calvi had written a letter of warning to Pope John Paul II, stating that such an event would “provoke a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions in which the Church will suffer the gravest damage."^[3] Banco Ambrosiano collapsed in June 1982 following the discovery of debts (according to various sources) of between 700 million and 1.5 billion US dollars. Much of the money had been siphoned off via the Vatican Bank (strictly named the Istituto per le Opere Religiose or Institute of Religious Works), which was Banco Ambrosiano's main shareholder. is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II. The Letter M is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he held strong devotion Pope John Paul II (Latin: , Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan PaweÅ‚ II) born   [] (May 18, 1920, Wadowice, Poland – April 2, 2005, Vatican City) reigned as... The Vatican Bank is a common name given to the Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR) or Institute for Religious Works, the central bank for the Roman Catholic Church located in Vatican City. ...

In 1984 the Vatican Bank agreed to pay US$224 million to the 120 creditors of the failed Banco Ambrosiano as a “recognition of moral involvement” in the bank's collapse.^[2]

Death

On 10 June 1982 Calvi went missing from his Rome apartment, having fled the country on a false passport in the name of Gian Roberto Calvini. He had shaved off his moustache and fled initially to Venice, and from there he apparently hired a private plane to London. At 7:30 AM on Friday 18 June 1982 a passing postman found his body hanging from scaffolding beneath Blackfriars Bridge in the financial district of London. Calvi's clothing was stuffed with building bricks, and he was carrying around $15,000 of cash in three different currencies.^[4] is the 161st day of the year (162nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see Venice (disambiguation). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... is the 169th day of the year (170th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Blackfriars Bridge with St Pauls Cathedral behind Blackfriars Bridge viewed from upstream, looking south Blackfriars Bridge, seen from Waterloo Bridge. ...

Calvi had been a member of Licio Gelli's secretive masonic lodge, P2, and members of P2 referred to themselves as frati neri or "black friars". This has led to a suggestion in some quarters that Calvi was murdered and his body left hanging under Blackfriars Bridge as a masonic warning because of symbolism associated with the word "Blackfriars".^[5] Licio Gelli (born in Pistoia, Tuscany, April 21, 1919), was the masonic Worshipful Master of the powerful Italian lodge Propaganda Due (P2), involved in Gladios strategy of tension. He has been involved in almost all of the Italian scandals in the past three decades (Tangentopoli, which led to the... This box:      Propaganda Due or P2 was an irregular or black Masonic lodge that operated in Italy from 1877-1981, headed in its final decades by Licio Gelli. ... “Freemasons” redirects here. ...

On the day before his body was found, Calvi had been stripped of his post at Banco Ambrosiano by the Bank of Italy, and his 55 year old private secretary Graziella Corrocher had jumped to her death from a fifth floor window at Banco Ambrosiano. Corrocher left behind an angry note condemning the damage that Calvi had done to the bank and its employees. Corrocher's death was ruled a suicide, although as with Calvi's death there have been suggestions of foul play. Headquarters Rome Established 1893 Governor Mario Draghi Central Bank of Italy Website bancaditalia. ...

Calvi's death was the subject of two coroner's inquests in the United Kingdom. The first inquest recorded a verdict of suicide in July 1982, while the second inquest recorded an open verdict in July 1983, indicating that the court had been unable to determine the exact cause of his death. Calvi's family maintained that his death had been a murder, and following Calvi's exhumation in December 1998, an independent forensic report published in October 2002 concluded that he had been murdered. It was concluded that the injuries to his neck were inconsistent with hanging, and that he had not touched the bricks found in his pockets. Additionally, it was concluded that there was a lack of rust and paint on his shoes from the scaffolding over which he would have needed to climb in order to hang himself. At the time that Calvi's body was found, the water in the river had receded with the tide, giving the scene the appearance of a hanging, but at the time that Calvi died, the place on the scaffolding where the rope was tied could have been reached by a person standing in a boat. A coroner is either the presiding officer of a special court, a medical officer, or an officer of law responsible for investigating deaths, particularly those happening under unusual circumstances. ... For other uses, see Suicide (disambiguation). ...

This aspect of Calvi's death has been the focus of the theory that he was murdered, and it is the version of events that is depicted on screen in Giuseppe Ferrara's film reconstruction of the event (see the paragraph Films about Calvi's 1982 death below). In September 2003 the City of London police reopened their investigation as a murder inquiry.^[6][7][8] Motto: Domine dirige nos Latin: Lord, guide us Shown within Greater London Sovereign state United Kingdom Constituent country England Region Greater London Status sui generis, City and Ceremonial County Admin HQ Guildhall Government  - Leadership see text  - Mayor John Stuttard  - MP Mark Field  - London Assembly John Biggs Area  - City  1. ...

Roberto Calvi's life was insured for $10 million with Unione Italiana, and attempts by his family to obtain a payout resulted in litigation (Fisher v Unione Italiana [1998] CLC 682). Following the forensic report of 2002 which established that Calvi was murdered, the policy was finally paid out, although around half of the sum was paid to creditors of the Calvi family who had incurred considerable costs during their attempts to establish that Calvi had been murdered.^[5][9][10]

Prosecution of Giuseppe Calò and Licio Gelli

In July 1991 the Mafia pentito (a mafioso turned informer) Francesco Marino Mannoia claimed that Roberto Calvi had been killed because he had lost Mafia funds when Banco Ambrosiano collapsed.^[11] According to Mannoia the killer was Francesco Di Carlo, a mafioso living in London at the time, and the order to kill Calvi had come from Mafia boss Giuseppe Calò and Licio Gelli. When Di Carlo became an informer in June 1996, he denied that he was the killer, but admitted that he had been approached by Calò to do the job. However, Di Carlo could not be reached in time, and when he later called Calò, the latter said that everything had been taken care of already. According to Di Carlo, the killers were Vincenzo Casillo and Sergio Vaccari, who belonged to the Camorra from Naples and have been killed since.^[10] Tommaso Buscetta (in sunglasses), the first important pentito of Italian Mafia, escorted in a court of law. ... Francesco Mannoia (centre, foreground) in custody, circa 1986 Francesco Marino Mannoia (born 1951) was a member of the Sicilian Mafia who became a pentito. ... Francesco Di Carlo (Altofonte, February 18, 1942) is a member of the Mafia who turned state witness (pentito - a mafioso turned informer) in 1996. ... Giuseppe Pippo Calò (born September 30, 1931 in Palermo) is a member of the Sicilian Mafia. ... Licio Gelli (born in Pistoia, Tuscany, April 21, 1919), was the masonic Worshipful Master of the powerful Italian lodge Propaganda Due (P2), involved in Gladios strategy of tension. He has been involved in almost all of the Italian scandals in the past three decades (Tangentopoli, which led to the... The camorra is a mafia-like criminal organization, or secret society, in the region of Campania and the city of Naples in Italy. ...

In 1997, Italian prosecutors in Rome implicated a member of the Sicilian Mafia, Giuseppe Calò, in Calvi's murder, along with Flavio Carboni, a Sardinian businessman with wide ranging interests. Two other men, Ernesto Diotallevi (purportedly one of the leaders of the Banda della Magliana, a Roman Mafia-like organization) and former Mafia member turned informer Francesco Di Carlo, were also alleged to be involved in the killing. Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra), is an Italian criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. ... Giuseppe Pippo Calo (born 1931) is a member of the Sicilian Mafia. ... The Banda della Magliana was an Italian criminal organization based in Rome, particularly active through-out the late 1970s until the early 1990s. ...

In July 2003, the Italian prosecutors concluded that the Mafia acted not only in its own interests, but also to ensure that Calvi could not blackmail "politico-institutional figures and [representatives] of freemasonry, the P2 lodge, and the Institute of Religious Works with whom he had invested substantial sums of money, some of it from Cosa Nostra and Italian public corporations".^[12] The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra), is an Italian criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. ... Masonry in action; a Mason at work. ... This box:      Propaganda Due or P2 was an irregular or black Masonic lodge that operated in Italy from 1877-1981, headed in its final decades by Licio Gelli. ... The Vatican Bank is a common name given to the Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR) or Institute for Religious Works, the central bank for the Roman Catholic Church located in Vatican City. ... Charles Lucky Luciano, one of the most famous American bosses (La) Cosa Nostra (our thing or this thing of ours in Italian) is a worldwide alliance of criminals, linked through both familial and conspiratorial ties, that is dedicated to pursuing crime and protecting its members. ...

On 19 July 2005, Licio Gelli, the grand master of the Propaganda Due or P2 masonic lodge, received a notification – required by Italian law – informing him that he was formally under investigation on charges of ordering the murder of Calvi along with Giuseppe Calò, Ernesto Diotallevi, Flavio Carboni and Carboni's Austrian ex-girlfriend, Manuela Kleinszig. The four other suspects were already indicted on murder charges in April in a separate indictment. According to the indictment, the five ordered Calvi's murder to prevent the banker "from using blackmail power against his political and institutional sponsors from the world of Masonry, belonging to the P2 lodge, or to the Institute for Religious Works (the Vatican Bank) with whom he had managed investments and financing with conspicuous sums of money, some of it coming from Cosa Nostra and public agencies".^[13] is the 200th day of the year (201st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Licio Gelli (born in Pistoia, Tuscany, April 21, 1919), was the masonic Worshipful Master of the powerful Italian lodge Propaganda Due (P2), involved in Gladios strategy of tension. He has been involved in almost all of the Italian scandals in the past three decades (Tangentopoli, which led to the... This box:      Propaganda Due or P2 was an irregular or black Masonic lodge that operated in Italy from 1877-1981, headed in its final decades by Licio Gelli. ... This box:      Propaganda Due or P2 was an irregular or black Masonic lodge that operated in Italy from 1877-1981, headed in its final decades by Licio Gelli. ... Giuseppe Pippo Calò (born September 30, 1931 in Palermo) is a member of the Sicilian Mafia. ...

Gelli was accused of having provoked Calvi's death in order to punish him for embezzling money from Banco Ambrosiano that was owed to him and the Mafia. The Mafia was also claimed to have wanted to prevent Calvi from revealing that Banco Ambrosiano had been used for money laundering. Gelli denied he was involved but has acknowledged that the financier was murdered. In his statement before the court, he said the killing was commissioned in Poland. This is thought to be a reference to Calvi's alleged involvement in financing the Solidarity trade union movement at the request of the late Pope John Paul II, allegedly on behalf of the Vatican.^[13] However, Gelli's name was not in the final indictment at the trial that started in October 2005. Banco Ambrosiano was an Italian bank which collapsed spectacularly in 1982. ... The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra), is an Italian criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. ... Solidarity (Polish: ; full name: Independent Self-governing Trade Union Solidarity — Niezależny SamorzÄ…dny ZwiÄ…zek Zawodowy Solidarność) is a Polish trade union federation founded in September 1980 at the then Lenin Shipyards, and originally led by Lech WaÅ‚Ä™sa. ... Official papal image of John Paul II. His Holiness Pope John Paul II, né Karol Józef Wojtyła (born May 18, 1920 in Wadowice, Poland), is the current Pope — the Bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church. ...

Trial in Italy

On 5 October 2005, the trial of the five individuals charged with Calvi's murder began in Rome. The defendants were Giuseppe Calò, Flavio Carboni, Manuela Kleinszig, Ernesto Diotallevi, and Calvi's former driver and bodyguard Silvano Vittor. The trial took place in a specially fortified courtroom in Rome's Rebibbia prison.^{[14][15][16][3]} is the 278th day of the year (279th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Giuseppe Pippo Calò (born September 30, 1931 in Palermo) is a member of the Sicilian Mafia. ...

On 6 June 2007, all five individuals were cleared by the court of murdering Calvi.^[17] Mario Lucio d'Andria, the presiding judge at the trial, threw out the charges citing "insufficient evidence" after hearing 20 months of evidence. The verdict was seen as a surprise by some observers. The court ruled that Calvi's death was murder and not suicide.^[18] The defence had suggested that there were plenty of people with a motive for Calvi's murder, including Vatican officials and Mafia figures who wanted to ensure his silence.^[19][20] Legal experts who had followed the trial said that the prosecutors found it hard to present a convincing case due to the 25 years that had elapsed since Calvi's death. An additional factor was that some key witnesses were unwilling to testify, untraceable or dead.^[21] is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra), is an Italian criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. ...

The private investigator Jeff Katz, who was hired by Calvi's family in 1991 to look into his death, claimed it was likely that senior figures in the Italian establishment had escaped prosecution. "The problem is that the people who probably actually ordered the death of Calvi are not in the dock - but to get to those people might be very difficult indeed," he said in an interview.^[22] Katz said it was "probably true" that the Mafia had carried out the killing but that the gangsters suspected of the crime were either dead or missing.^[23] The verdict in the trial may not be the end of the matter, since the prosecutor's office in Rome had already opened a second investigation implicating, among others, Licio Gelli. Giuseppe Calò is still serving a life sentence on unrelated Mafia charges.^[24] A private investigator, private detective, PI, or private eye, is a person who undertakes investigations, usually for a private citizen or some other entity not involved with a government or police organization. ... Licio Gelli (born in Pistoia, Tuscany, April 21, 1919), was the masonic Worshipful Master of the powerful Italian lodge Propaganda Due (P2), involved in Gladios strategy of tension. He has been involved in almost all of the Italian scandals in the past three decades (Tangentopoli, which led to the... Giuseppe Pippo Calò (born September 30, 1931 in Palermo) is a member of the Sicilian Mafia. ...

Films about Calvi's 1982 death

The circumstances surrounding Calvi's death were made into a feature film, I Banchieri di Dio - Il Caso Calvi (God's Bankers - The Calvi Case), in 2001.^[25] Following the release of the film, Flavio Carboni sued the director Giuseppe Ferrara for slander but lost the action. A heavily fictionalized version of Calvi appears in the film The Godfather Part III in the character of Frederick Keinszig.^[26] Calvi was reportedly quoted as saying shortly before his death: "The only book you've got to read is The Godfather. That's the only one that tells how the world is really run." This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the 1972 film. ...

In 1990 The Comic Strip Presents, a BBC television series, produced a spoof version of Calvi's story under the title Spaghetti Hoops, with Nigel Planer in the lead role. The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... Nigel George Planer (born February 22, 1953 in London) is an English actor, novelist and playwright. ...

References

Josemaría Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei Opus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, is an organization of the Catholic Church that emphasizes the Catholic belief that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. ... Front of UPI Headquarters, Washington, D.C. United Press International (UPI) is a global news agency headquartered in the United States filing news in English, Spanish and Arabic. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

Further reading

• Cornwell, Rupert (1983). God's Banker: The Life and Death of Roberto Calvi, London: Victor Gollancz Ltd. ISBN 0043320996
• Yallop, David (1985). In God's Name: An Investigation into the Murder of Pope John Paul I, London: Corgi ISBN 0552126403
• Willan, Philip (2007). The Last Supper: the Mafia, the Masons and the Killing of Roberto Calvi, London: Constable & Robinson, 2007 ISBN 1845292960 (Review in The Observer)

David Anthony Yallop (born 1937 London) is a British author who writes chiefly about unsolved crimes. ...

See also

• Banco Ambrosiano
• Licio Gelli
• Michele Sindona
• Propaganda Due
• Strategy of tension
• Piazza Fontana bombing
• Gianmario Roveraro
• Parmalat
• Corporate scandal
• Accounting scandals
• Money laundering

Banco Ambrosiano was an Italian bank which collapsed spectacularly in 1982. ... Licio Gelli (born in Pistoia, Tuscany, April 21, 1919), was the masonic Worshipful Master of the powerful Italian lodge Propaganda Due (P2), involved in Gladios strategy of tension. He has been involved in almost all of the Italian scandals in the past three decades (Tangentopoli, which led to the... Michele Sindona (died 1986) was an Italian banker and convicted felon. ... This box:      Propaganda Due or P2 was an irregular or black Masonic lodge that operated in Italy from 1877-1981, headed in its final decades by Licio Gelli. ... A strategy of tension (Italian: ) is a way to control and manipulate public opinion using fear, propaganda, disinformation, psychological warfare, agents provocateurs, as well as false flag terrorist actions (including bombings). ... The Piazza Fontana bombing (Italian: ) refers to the terrorist bombing on December 12, 1969 in the offices of Banca Nazionale dellAgricoltura (National Agrarian Bank) in Piazza Fontana, Milan, Italy, carried out by far-right terrorists. ... Gianmario Roveraro (c 1936 - ? July 5, 2006) was an Italian banker who founded Akros Finanziaria. ... Parmalat logo. ... A corporate scandal is a scandal involving allegations of unethical behavior by people acting within or on behalf of a corporation. ... Accounting scandals, or corporate accounting scandals are political and business scandals which arise with the disclosure of misdeeds by trusted executives of large public corporations. ... Money laundering is the practice of engaging in financial transactions in order to conceal the identity, source and destination of the money in question. ...

External links

• The Pope and the Mafia Millions, Sky Television
• Through the looking glass: the Vatican and Calvi murder
• Propaganda Due (P2) & Roberto Calvi
• Gallery of rare pictures of Roberto Calvi supplied by his son Carlo Calvi
• Who Killed Roberto Calvi? Three Monkeys Interview with journalist Philip Willan