Carlo Digilio, also known as Zio Otto (7 May 1937 – 12 December 2005), was an Italian

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

, and self-styled

secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...

. He belonged to the neo-fascist group ''Ordine Nuovo'' and later became a collaborator. At the end of the first-degree process, he was convicted for the

Piazza Fontana bombing The Piazza Fontana bombing () was a terrorist attack that occurred on 12 December 1969 when a bomb exploded at the headquarters of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura (the National Agricultural Bank) in Piazza Fontana (near the ''Duomo'') in Mil ...

, but the reliefs of law extinguished his guilt. He was also involved in the

Piazza della Loggia bombing The Piazza della Loggia bombing () was a bombing that took place on the morning of 28 May 1974, in Brescia, Italy during an anti-fascist protest. The terrorist attack killed eight people and wounded 102. The bomb was placed inside a rubbish bi ...

Life

Born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1937, Digilio's family moved to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, and at the beginning of the 1960s, he enrolled at the Faculty of Economics and Commerce, but did not complete his studies. He declared that the

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

and the death of his father Michelangelo during a car accident in 1967, forced him to become an

informer An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie", "tout" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information inten ...

of the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

military bases A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

in Veneto under the nickname of '' Erodoto'', a nickname that his father had used before him. He also claimed, without any proof, that the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

and the

Italian intelligence agencies Italian intelligence agencies are the intelligence agencies of Italy. Currently, the Italian intelligence agencies are the Agenzia Informazioni e Sicurezza Esterna (AISE), focusing on foreign intelligence, and the Agenzia Informazioni e Sicurezz ...

recruited Digllio in their military force of

anti-communists Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...

and

fascists Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social h ...

. Subsequently, he joined the

Neo-Fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology which includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, ultraconservatism, racial supremacy, right-wing populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xe ...

and

Neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

Venetian group ''Ordine Nuovo''. Digilio was an artillery artificer and explosives expert within the Paduan cell of Franco Freda and Giovanni Ventura. He admitted to having participated in the failed '' golpe'', before taking part in the

. Digilio declared he had inspected the devices used in Milan and the Piazza della Loggia bombing, a possible backstage of the Milan police headquarters bombing. Additionally, he claimed Gianfranco Bertoli (1933-2000) was an infiltrator, and not an anarchist. Digilio, Martino Siciliano and

Delfo Zorzi Delfo Zorzi (born 3 July 1947), presently known as , is an Italian-born Japanese neo-fascist. Biography Roi Zorzi was born in Arzignano, near Vicenza, Italy, on July 3, 1947. In 1968 he moved to Naples to study Asian languages, later graduatin ...

were charged with having materially executed the Piazza Fontana's massacre on 12 December 1969. In the following years, Zorzi escaped to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. When Ordine Nuovo was banned in compliance with the law against the reconstitution of the Fascist Party, Digilio built up contacts with the

Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari The Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari (), abbreviated NAR, was an Italian neofascist, neo-fascist armed militant organization active during the Years of Lead (Italy), Years of Lead from 1977 to November 1981. It committed over 100 murders in four year ...

. In July 1982 he was jailed for a short time in

, after the

Bologna massacre The Bologna massacre () was a Terrorism in Italy, terrorist bombing of the Bologna Centrale railway station in Bologna, Italy, on the morning of 2 August 1980, which killed 85 people and wounded over 200. Several members of the neo-fascist ter ...

, while he was working as a

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

in the

Lido di Venezia The Lido, or Venice Lido (), is an barrier island in the Venetian Lagoon, Northern Italy; it is home to about 20,400 residents. The Venice Film Festival takes place at the Lido in late August/early September. Geography The Lido island is o ...

shooting range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue, or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice, or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by milita ...

. He migrated to

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, where he married and the couple had a daughter. Digillio claimed, again without any proof, that during this period he continued to collaborate with the American secret services, while recruiting Cuban exiles to be used against

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

. In fall 1992, he was arrested under an international warrant and returned to Italy, where he was sentenced to 10 years. Digilio became the first collaborator of so-called black extremism. He testified to have worked with Franco Freda,

(who was absolved), and Carlo Maria Maggi (a member of the Venetian section). In 1994, Digilio and Martino Siciliano asserted that Delfo Zorzi -and not the anarchist

Pietro Valpreda Pietro Valpreda (29 September 1932 – 6 July 2002) was an Italian anarchist, poet, dancer, and novelist. He was sentenced to prison on charges of being responsible for the Piazza Fontana bombing in December 1969. In 1987, he was acquitted by It ...

- had been the material executor who had placed a bomb in front of the ''

Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura The Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura or BNA, was an Italian bank that existed from 1921 to 2000. History Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura was established in Milan in 1921 by Count (who after his death was succeeded by his nephew Giovanni Aulett ...

'', in Milan. They also declared that, in doing so, Zorzi had been helped by the son of a banking director. Subsequently, Valpreda was processed and absolved of these charges. In 1995, his deposition against Zorzi was declared to be unreliable due to a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

that had caused memory loss. Zorzi was acquitted from the charges related to the Piazza Fontana and

. He was exclusively condemned for the assassination attempt to the Slovenian school of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

(without victims) and to the

boundary stone A boundary marker, border marker, boundary stone, or border stone is a robust physical marker that identifies the start of a land boundary or the change in a boundary, especially a change in direction of a boundary. There are several other t ...

. Thanks to the reliefs of law, Digilio's actions around the Piazza Fontana bombing were not chargeable, and his lawyers didn't appeal. The judges also ascertained his involvement in the Piazza Della Loggia bombing. Digilio spent his last years within the protection program under the name of Mario Rossi. He died in a rest home in

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

on 12 December 2005, the 36th anniversary of the Piazza Fontana massacre.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Digilio, Carlo 1937 births 2005 deaths 20th-century Italian criminals 20th-century Italian military personnel 21st-century Italian people Italian mass murderers Italian mercenaries Italian neo-Nazis Italian people convicted of murder Italian spies Pentiti Years of Lead (Italy) People convicted of murder by Italy