Gherardo Colombo (born 23 June 1946) is an Italian former magistrate and judge specialized in political corruption cases. He was a member of the

Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...

between 2005 and 2007.Marc Leijendekker, ''33 jaar lang corruptie bestrijden'', ''

NRC Handelsblad ''NRC'', previously called ' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by Mediahuis NRC. It is widely regarded as a newspaper of record in the country. History was first published on 1 October 1970 after a merger of the Amst ...

'', 30 December 2015

Career

Colombo was born on 23 June 1946 in

Briosco Briosco ( Brianzöö: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Monza and Brianza in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 5,676 and an area of .All demographics and ...

. He obtained a degree in Jurisprudence from the

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, colloquially the Catholic University of Milan () or simply the Cattolica, is an Italian private research university founded in 1921. Its main campus is located in Milan, Italy, with satellite campuses in B ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in 1971. Colombo had a 33-year long career as magistrate in Milan. He worked amongst others on the cases of the 1979 murder on advocate

Giorgio Ambrosoli Giorgio Ambrosoli (; 17 October 1933 – 11 July 1979) was an Italian lawyer who was gunned down while investigating the malpractice of banker Michele Sindona. Liquidating Sindona's financial empire Appointed by the court as liquidator of ...

, the

Propaganda Due (; P2) was a Masonic lodge, founded in 1877, within the tradition of Continental Freemasonry and under the authority of Grand Orient of Italy. Its Masonic charter was withdrawn in 1976, and it was transformed by Worshipful Master Licio Gell ...

Freemason lodge, and off the books money at the

Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale The Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI; English: "Institute for Industrial Reconstruction") was an Italian public holding company established in 1933 by the Fascist regime to rescue, restructure and finance banks and private compani ...

. Together with Giuliano Turone he investigated the finances of

Michele Sindona Michele Sindona (; 8 May 1920 – 22 March 1986) was an Italian banker and convicted felon. Known in banking circles as "The Shark", Sindona was a banker for the Sicilian Mafia and the Vatican. Sindona was a member of the fascist Propagand ...

. In the 1990s Colombo was one of the judges in the

Mani pulite (; ) was a nationwide judicial investigation into political corruption in Italy held in the early 1990s, resulting in the demise of the First Italian Republic and the disappearance of many political parties. Some politicians and industry leade ...

political corruption investigation in Italy. He resigned from the judiciary in 2007 even though he could have continued sitting as a judge for another fourteen years. As a reason for his resignation he explained that he felt the fight against corruption should not take place solely in the legal arena.

Books

* ''On rules'', Amsterdam University Press, 2017,

References

1946 births Living people 20th-century Italian judges People from the Province of Monza e Brianza Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore alumni 21st-century Italian judges {{Italy-law-bio-stub