'God's banker' murder trial adjourned in Rome

Five suspects charged in the 1982 murder of an Italian banker who was found hanging from a London bridge went on trial in Rome today, but defence lawyers claimed that the victim committed suicide.

The trial into the murder of Roberto Calvi, nicknamed ‘God’s banker’ because of his close Vatican ties, opened in a high-security courtroom before eight judges. The opening hearing was procedural and presiding Judge Mario D’Andria said he hoped for a quick trial.

Today’s hearing was adjourned because the defence needed more time to prepare. The next hearing was set for November 23.

Prosecutors allege Giuseppe Calo – one of the five on trial – ordered Calvi’s killing. Calo, nicknamed the Mafia’s ‘cashier’ by the Italian media, was convicted years ago of Mafia charges unconnected to Calvi’s death.

The other defendants are businessmen Ernesto Diotallevi and Flavio Carboni; the latter’s Austrian ex-girlfriend Manuela Kleinszig, and Calvi’s driver and bodyguard Silvano Vittor.

Along with Carboni, Vittor is the last person known to have seen Calvi before his body was found under London’s Blackfriars Bridge in June 1982, his suit stuffed with rocks and bank notes.

Carboni was the only defendant in court today, while Calo – jailed since the 1980s – appeared by video link from a prison in central Italy. Defendants are not required to attend their trials in Italy.

Prosecutors allege Carboni and Vittor went to London with Calvi to deliver him to the people who murdered him, according to court documents and Vittor’s lawyer.

They also allege that Calvi, president of the failing Banco Ambrosiano, was laundering money for the Mafia, and that Calo ordered his murder because Mafia bosses were angry at Calvi for appropriating Mafia money and were afraid the banker would talk.

Defence lawyers in the case have denied the allegations, saying that Calvi’s death was suicide.

Carboni said he was “indifferent” to whether Calvi had been killed or committed suicide, claiming that he had no responsibility in any case. He said he believes Calvi killed himself, adding that “if reasons to commit suicide exist, Calvi had them all.”

Carboni and Corrado Oliviero, a lawyer for Calo, said the prosecution’s case was based on evidence from unreliable Mafia turncoats.

D’Andria granted a request by Vittor’s lawyer, Luigi Greco, for today’s hearing to be adjourned because the defence needed more time to prepare. The next hearing was set for November 23.

However, the judge turned down requests from defence lawyers for further delays.

Kleinszig’s lawyer, Ersilia Barracca, said her client was in Austria and may attend future hearings.

Calvi was found dead as Banco Ambrosiano collapsed following the disappearance of millions of dollars in loans the bank had provided to several dummy companies in Latin America.

It was Italy’s biggest post-war banking scandal, and one that implicated the Vatican, which had provided letters of credit for the loans.

When Calvi was found, his suit pockets were stuffed with 5 kilograms of rocks and bricks, a falsified passport and a substantial amount of cash in various currencies.

The death was initially deemed a suicide, but in July 2003 Italian prosecutors concluded that Calvi was murdered and British police announced a murder inquiry into Calvi’s death.