Valerio Morucci (born 22 July 1949) is an Italian terrorist, who was a member of the

Red Brigades The Red Brigades ( , often abbreviated BR) were an Italian far-left Marxist–Leninist militant group. It was responsible for numerous violent incidents during Italy's Years of Lead, including the kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro in 1978, ...

and who took part in the kidnapping and assassination of Aldo Moro in 1978.

Biography

Morucci was 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, ...

. He took part in the libertarian movement of 1968, and later entered

Potere Operaio Potere Operaio (English: "Workers' Power") was a radical left-wing Italian political group, active between 1967 and 1973. Among the group's leaders were Antonio ('Toni') Negri, Nanni Balestrini, Franco Piperno, Oreste Scalzone and Valerio ...

, a far-left organization. After the dissolution of Potere Operaio in 1973, he tried to form several political-military organizations including the Formazioni Comuniste Armate (FCA), which were absorbed by the Red Brigades (Italian: ''Brigate Rosse'', or BR) in 1976. Morucci, considered an expert in weapons and military organizations, became the leader of BR's "column" in Rome. In March 1978, he took part in the ambush in via Fani in which the escort of former prime Minister

Aldo Moro Aldo Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and prominent member of Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democracy (DC) and its centre-left wing. He served as prime minister of Italy in five terms from December 1963 ...

was massacred, and during which Moro was allegedly kidnapped. According to the official reconstruction of the events which followed, Morucci disturbed all the communications of the BR and was allegedly against the final decision (attributed to BR national leader

Mario Moretti Mario Moretti (born 16 January 1946) is an Italian terrorist and convicted murderer. A leading member of the Red Brigades in the late 1970s, he was one of the kidnappers of Aldo Moro, the president of Italy's largest political party ''Democrazi ...

) to kill Moro. He also entered in contact with Lanfranco Pace and

Franco Piperno Franco Piperno (5 January 1943 – 13 January 2025) was an Italian communist militant. He was an associate professor of Condensed Matter Physics in the University of Calabria. Life and career Piperno was born in Catanzaro in a Jewish family. H ...

(in turn in contact with the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a Social democracy, social democratic and Democratic socialism, democratic socialist political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parti ...

, one of the few political forces favourable to negotiations to liberate Moro). According to his declarations during the ensuing trials, Morucci escorted the red

Renault 4 The Renault 4, or R4 in short (and 4L, pronounced "Quatrelle" in French ), is an economy car built by the French company Renault from 1961 to 1994. Although the Renault 4 was first marketed as a short estate or wagon, its minimal rear o ...

in which Moro's corpse was found on 9 May 1978 to its discovery location in via Caetani. He subsequently made the phone call announcing to the victim's relatives where Moro could be found.The phone call purportedly can be found on YouTube. Morucci's voice has been identified as that which called Moro's family several times during the latter's time in captivity (aside from a call by Moretti on 30 April 1978). Morucci was arrested in 1979. Due to his subsequent dissociation from BR, and the information given about the organization, he was paroled. His sentence expired in 1994. He wrote several books, including ''Ritratto di un terrorista da giovane'', in which he tells about his life before his militancy in the Red Brigades, ''La peggio gioventù'', about his militancy in the BR, and ''Patrie galere. Cronache dall'oltrelegge'', about his detention years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morucci, Valerio 1949 births Criminals from Rome Libertarian socialists Living people Potere Operaio Red Brigades

Biography

See also

References