Enrico De Pedis

Enrico De Pedis
Born(1954-05-15)15 May 1954
Rome, Italy
Died2 February 1990(1990-02-02) (aged 35)
Rome, Italy
NationalityItalian
Other namesRenatino
AllegianceBanda della Magliana

Enrico De Pedis (Italian pronunciation: [enˈriːko de peˈdis]; 15 May 1954 − 2 February 1990) was an Italian gangster and one of the bosses of the Banda della Magliana, an Italian criminal organization based in the city of Rome, particularly active throughout the late 1970s until the early 1990s. His nickname was "Renatino". Unlike other members of his gang, De Pedis possessed a strong entrepreneurial spirit. While other members squandered their earnings, he invested his illicit proceeds (in construction companies, restaurants, boutiques, etc.).[1]

Along with many of the crimes committed by his gang, De Pedis has also been linked to the disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi, whose case has been linked with the Pope John Paul II assassination attempt. On 2 February 1990, De Pedis was ambushed and murdered by his former colleagues on Via del Pellegrino near Campo de' Fiori.[2] He was buried in the Sant'Apollinare Basilica in Rome.[3]

In 2009, the Rome prosecutor's offices investigated why De Pedis was entombed in the Vatican-owned basilica.[4] According to the former Banda della Magliana member Antonio Mancini, speaking in 2011,[5] this was a reward to De Pedis for his role in persuading other members to stop the strikes (including Orlandi's kidnapping) that the gang was making against the Vatican in order to force the restitution of large amounts of money they had lent to the Vatican Bank through Roberto Calvi's Banco Ambrosiano.

In May 2012, the tomb was opened and bones were removed as part of the investigation into Orlandi's disappearance.[6] In June 2012, De Pedis' corpse was finally removed from the church, cremated and the ashes dissolved in the sea.[7]

  1. ^ (in Italian) "Il boss e la bella tra aerei privati, feste e cocaina" Archived 2008-07-04 at the Wayback Machine, Il Messaggero, June 24, 1995
  2. ^ (in Italian) "Alla sbarra i killer di 'Renatino' – Cinque anni fa la spietata esecuzione di via del Pellegrino, voluta dai boss della Magliana", Corriere della Serra, March 9, 1995
  3. ^ "Chi l'ha visto?"[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ (in Italian) "Magliana, giallo sulla sepoltura del boss. Sentiti i rettori di Sant'Apollinare", Corriere Della Sera, December 23, 2009
  5. ^ (in Italian) "L'ex della Magliana: Sì, siamo stati noi a rapire la Orlandi" Archived 2012-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, La Stampa, July 27, 2011
  6. ^ "Italian mafia boss's tomb opened in search for missing girl", The Guardian, May 15, 2012
  7. ^ (in Italian) "De Pedis traslato e cremato a Prima Porta: 'Caso chiuso'", RomaToday, June 18, 2012