Enrico De Pedis

Enrico De Pedis

Enrico De Pedis (May 15, 1954 − February 2, 1990) was an Italian criminal 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 an assassination attempt on pope John Paul II. On February 2, 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. The unusual interment has been linked to the case of Emanuela Orlandi's kidnapping.^[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] His remains were then cremated and thrown into the sea.

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