God's Banker Found Dead - 1982
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
On 19th June 1982 the body of Italian banker Roberto Calvi was found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge in London.
Known as God's banker for his links with the Vatican, the 62-year-old was the chairman of Banco Ambrosiano in Milan and a central figure in a complex web of international fraud and intrigue.
He had been missing for nine days before his body was discovered by a passer-by hanging from scaffolding on a riverside walk under the bridge.
Police initially treated the death as suicide.
It was later revealed that Roberto Calvi was found with five bricks in his pockets and had in his possession about $14,000 in three different currencies.
On 23 July an inquest jury returned a verdict of suicide. This was overturned in 1983 when a second inquest delivered an open verdict on the death.
In October 2002 forensic experts appointed by Italian judges concluded that the banker had been murdered.
They said his neck showed no evidence of the injuries usually associated with death by hanging and his hands had never touched the stones found in the pockets of his clothes. American Archbishop Paul Marcinkus was sought for questioning but was granted immunity as a Vatican employee. He retired in 1990 and died in 2006.
In October 2005 five people went on trial in Rome. They were Sardinian financier Flavio Carboni, his former girlfriend Manuela Kleinszig, Roman entrepreneur Ernesto Diotallevi, Calvi's former bodyguard, Silvano Vittor and convicted Cosa Nostra treasurer Pippo Calo.
They were acquitted earlier this month. (June 2007)
Jail Sentence
Mr Calvi became chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, now Italy's largest private bank, in 1975 and built up a vast financial empire.
In 1978, a report by the Bank of Italy on Ambrosiano concluded that several billion lire had been illegally exported.
In May 1981, Mr Calvi was arrested, found guilty, and sentenced to four years' imprisonment, but released pending an appeal. During his short spell in jail he attempted suicide.
Mr Calvi was due to appear in an Italian court to appeal against this conviction at the time of his death.
Later that month he was to be tried for alleged fraud involving property deals with Sicilian banker Michele Sindona, who was himself serving 25 years in America at the time, over the collapse of the Franklin National Bank in New York in 1974.
The Vatican was directly linked to Mr Calvi by Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, the Pope's bodyguard, a governor of the Vatican and head of the Vatican bank which had a shareholding in Ambrosiano.
Missing Millions
Ambrosiano was on the verge of collapse amid press reports that investigators found a £400m "hole" in its accounts. The bank's executive board had just decided to strip Mr Calvi of his authority.
The Italian Treasury dissolved the bank's administration and the Bank of Italy was a temporary commissioner.
Mr Calvi fled to Venice nine days ago after shaving his moustache to avoid being recognised.
From there it seems he hired a private plane to take him to London.
The day before he was found dead, his secretary committed suicide in Milan by jumping off the fourth floor of the bank's headquarters.
Teresa Corrocher, aged 55, left an angry suicide note condemning her boss for the damage she said he had done to Ambrosiano and its employees.
Known as God's banker for his links with the Vatican, the 62-year-old was the chairman of Banco Ambrosiano in Milan and a central figure in a complex web of international fraud and intrigue.
He had been missing for nine days before his body was discovered by a passer-by hanging from scaffolding on a riverside walk under the bridge.
Police initially treated the death as suicide.
Background of the Calvi Case
It was later revealed that Roberto Calvi was found with five bricks in his pockets and had in his possession about $14,000 in three different currencies.
On 23 July an inquest jury returned a verdict of suicide. This was overturned in 1983 when a second inquest delivered an open verdict on the death.
In October 2002 forensic experts appointed by Italian judges concluded that the banker had been murdered.
They said his neck showed no evidence of the injuries usually associated with death by hanging and his hands had never touched the stones found in the pockets of his clothes. American Archbishop Paul Marcinkus was sought for questioning but was granted immunity as a Vatican employee. He retired in 1990 and died in 2006.
In October 2005 five people went on trial in Rome. They were Sardinian financier Flavio Carboni, his former girlfriend Manuela Kleinszig, Roman entrepreneur Ernesto Diotallevi, Calvi's former bodyguard, Silvano Vittor and convicted Cosa Nostra treasurer Pippo Calo.
They were acquitted earlier this month. (June 2007)
Update On Calvi Case
Jail Sentence
Mr Calvi became chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, now Italy's largest private bank, in 1975 and built up a vast financial empire.
In 1978, a report by the Bank of Italy on Ambrosiano concluded that several billion lire had been illegally exported.
In May 1981, Mr Calvi was arrested, found guilty, and sentenced to four years' imprisonment, but released pending an appeal. During his short spell in jail he attempted suicide.
Mr Calvi was due to appear in an Italian court to appeal against this conviction at the time of his death.
Later that month he was to be tried for alleged fraud involving property deals with Sicilian banker Michele Sindona, who was himself serving 25 years in America at the time, over the collapse of the Franklin National Bank in New York in 1974.
The Vatican was directly linked to Mr Calvi by Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, the Pope's bodyguard, a governor of the Vatican and head of the Vatican bank which had a shareholding in Ambrosiano.
Missing Millions
Ambrosiano was on the verge of collapse amid press reports that investigators found a £400m "hole" in its accounts. The bank's executive board had just decided to strip Mr Calvi of his authority.
The Italian Treasury dissolved the bank's administration and the Bank of Italy was a temporary commissioner.
Mr Calvi fled to Venice nine days ago after shaving his moustache to avoid being recognised.
From there it seems he hired a private plane to take him to London.
The day before he was found dead, his secretary committed suicide in Milan by jumping off the fourth floor of the bank's headquarters.
Teresa Corrocher, aged 55, left an angry suicide note condemning her boss for the damage she said he had done to Ambrosiano and its employees.
The Final Straw
(an ode to God's Banker)
(an ode to God's Banker)
Labels: ambrosiano, calvi, gods banker, masonic, vatican
Posted by Optional, on
Tuesday, June 19, 2007.
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