Mobster's body exhumed from Vatican site in search for teen who vanished

[Andrew49]

The body of a mobster buried among cardinals and bishops on a Vatican property has been exhumed in an investigation into a teenage girl's disappearance. Investigators at the church of Sant'Apollinare in central Rome opened the tomb of Enrico "Renatino" De Pedis on Monday in the search for clues about what happened to Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of a prominent Vatican employee. The 15-year-old vanished without a trace after leaving her Vatican apartment for music lessons on the afternoon of June 22, 1983. The mystery has captivated people throughout Italy and triggered numerous conspiracy theories.

In the crypt, in addition to De Pedis' body, investigators found dozens of boxes of human bones, which they are testing.

Source - CNN

In 2005, an anonymous call to an Italian detective said Emanuela was kidnapped on the orders of the then-vicar of Rome, Cardinal Ugo Poletti, and that "the secret to the mystery lies in a tomb in Sant'Apollinare basilica" -- specifically De Pedis' tomb. De Pedis was gunned down in Rome in 1990 and his body was moved to the basilica some time before 1997, presumably either as part of a secret deal for a massive loan De Pedis made to the Vatican or to protect his tomb from being desecrated by rival gang members.

[Andrew49]

Apparently the burial in the Vatican vault was a reward to De Pedis for his role in persuading other members to stop the strikes 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.

[Hapax]

It's an intriguing story, but it's just a pity that there's the disappearance of a fifteen year old kid at the root of it. Make you wonder who else is among all those other boxes of bones.

[Andrew49]

De Pedis died of gunshot wounds in 1990 and his body was interred in the Vatican-owned church sometime before 1997, when an investigative journalist discovered the tomb’s existence among those of important prelates. De Pedis’s was the only crypt with the last name written in diamonds. Why such a notorious mobster with an undisputed affiliation with the Banda della Magliana criminal gang was buried in the company of bishops, cardinals, and popes in a Vatican church has been a question that has dogged the Holy See for the last 15 years.

[Andrew49]

The church where the mobster is buried is adjacent to a pontifical academy run by Opus Dei, which, thanks to the success of Dan Brown novels, only added to the pressure for the Vatican to resolve the issue.

De Pedis’s mistress suggested that the girl was kidnapped on orders from Paul Marcinkus, an American archbishop who was president of the Vatican bank when Orlandi disappeared.

[Hapax]

Marcinkus and Calvi? Already the story is beginning to rouse some old memories I'd forgotten I had. I'd sort of given up hope of the Vatican ever being forced to show their hand on all this stuff. Is any of this due to a slightly more rigorous law-enforcement process, now Berlusconi's now around to interfere in the same way? If so, it would raise the possibility of a lot more coming out, and almost make you believe there is a god.

[Andrew49]

Marcinkus and Calvi? Already the story is beginning to rouse some old memories I'd forgotten I had. I'd sort of given up hope of the Vatican ever being forced to show their hand on all this stuff. Is any of this due to a slightly more rigorous law-enforcement process, now Berlusconi's now around to interfere in the same way? If so, it would raise the possibility of a lot more coming out, and almost make you believe there is a god.

The missing girl has been a running sore for a long time in parts of Italy - but it never got any media coverage over here. Like most missing person cases it just fell off the radar. It seems though that the Vatican called in the police to put this to bed ... it's a puzzle though why nobody in the Vatican raised questions about the mobster being interred along with dozens of boxes of bones!

[DCon]

Money seems to be the true God where the Vatican are concerned

[Andrew49]

In 1983, Enrico de Pedis is believed to have organised the kidnapping of 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of a high-ranking Vatican official. The affair remains mysterious to this day, but one theory has it that Renatino loaned the Vatican a lot of cash when Jean Paul ll was in charge and said Polish pope sent said cash to his Solidarity mates in Poland, who were struggling to defeat Communism.

Trouble was, the Vatican was a bit slow with the repayments, so Enrico kidnapped the unfortunate child in order to remind the Holy See that they had better pay up, pronto.

French press

It's just getting murkier and murkier.

[C. Flower]

In 1983, Enrico de Pedis is believed to have organised the kidnapping of 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of a high-ranking Vatican official. The affair remains mysterious to this day, but one theory has it that Renatino loaned the Vatican a lot of cash when Jean Paul ll was in charge and said Polish pope sent said cash to his Solidarity mates in Poland, who were struggling to defeat Communism.

Trouble was, the Vatican was a bit slow with the repayments, so Enrico kidnapped the unfortunate child in order to remind the Holy See that they had better pay up, pronto.

French press

It's just getting murkier and murkier.

There was much talk of that particular Pope being an agent not of a higher power but an earthly one.

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

They've been a mobster corporation with a cover for many centuries in much the same way the mafia used the olive oil import business in the states.