Thursday 24 July 2003

Italian Officials Say Banker Was Murdered

They finally figured it out! Here's another death that was reported as a "suicide" when it happened... Makes you wonder... These bastards wouldn't think twice about killing you, me or anyone else if it mean't they'd get what they want. Now if that's not pure unadultarated evil then I don't know what is!

Prosecutors investigating the apparent 1982 suicide of Roberto Calvi, the Vatican-connected financier implicated in Italy's biggest postwar banking scandal, have concluded he was murdered, reports said Wednesday.

Four suspects in the case, including an alleged mafioso, have been notified of the conclusions but have not been indicted, the ANSA news agency reported. Their lawyers have 20 days to respond, it said.

RAI state television said prosecutors believe the Mafia killed Calvi because he lost their money and knew too much about their operations. Legal officials were unavailable Wednesday to confirm the reports.

Calvi's body was found hanging under a London bridge in 1982 within days of the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano, of which he was president and in which the Vatican's bank held a significant stake.

Last year, a panel of forensic experts also concluded that Calvi was killed. A Rome tribunal appointed the experts to study new evidence, including re-examining Calvi's body, which was exhumed in 1998.

The forensic experts could not find any injuries to Calvi's neck normally associated with death by hanging, news reports said.

Calvi's family has contended he was slain. A London coroner's jury could not decide if his death was a suicide or a homicide.

Calvi was dubbed "God's Banker" because of his ties with the Vatican's bank and its former top official, Archbishop Paul C. Marcinkus.

After the Banco Ambrosiano collapsed following the disappearance of $1.3 billion, the Vatican's bank agreed to pay $250 million to the Italian bank's creditors but denied any wrongdoing. Marcinkus also denied wrongdoing.

Full story...