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White Uno Gang

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White Uno Gang
Banda della Uno bianca
A white Fiat Uno
Founded1987
FoundersRoberto, Fabio and Alberto Savi
Founding locationForlì, Emilia-Romagna
Years active1987–1994
TerritoryBologna, Forlì, Ravenna, Pesaro and Ancona provinces
EthnicityItalian
Leader(s)Roberto Savi
Activitiesarmed robbery, bank robbery, extortion, murder, ethnic terrorism

The White Uno Gang (Italian: Banda della Uno bianca) was an Italian criminal organization operating mainly in Emilia-Romagna and Marche.

The name of the gang was coined by the press in 1991 as the gang frequently used a white Fiat Uno car, being particularly easy to steal and difficult to identify given its widespread usage in Italy at the time.

Between 1987 and 1994, the gang pulled off 103 heists, mostly armed robberies, causing 24 deaths and 102 injuries.[1][2][3]

History

[edit]

The gang, most of whom were serving police officers with links to right wing extremism,[4] began activity in 1987 with a string of night robberies at tollbooths along Autostrada A14. On 19 June 1987, the gang raided the tollbooth at Pesaro, using a Fiat Regata with false license plates owned by gang member Alberto Savi; the loot amounted to about 1,300,000 lire. They went on to raid a further twelve tollbooths in the next two months.

Police officer Antonio Mosca, the first victim of the gang

In October 1987, they attempted to extort Rimini trader Savino Grossi. Grossi had been receiving extortion threats for some time, and informed the police who organised a sting operation. On 3 October 1987, following instructions from the gang, he drove along the A14, with a police officer hiding in his luggage rack, and others following a short distance behind. He stopped at a flyover just before the tollbooth near Cesena where he was supposed to deposit a briefcase containing 1,500,000 lire. With the intervention of the police, a gunfight broke out in which superintendent Antonio Mosca was seriously injured, he died on 29 July 1989 as a result of his injuries. The gang managed to escape without being apprehended.[5]

The operation was attended by inspector Baglioni, whose own investigations in 1994 would allow him to discover the identities of the gang.[6] The murder of Antonio Mosca would be the first in a series committed by the gang.[7]

In early 1988, the gang killed two security guards and wounded another during supermarket raids; Giampiero Picello on 30 January 1988 in Rimini,[8] and Carlo Beccari on 19 February 1988 in Casalecchio di Reno. Francesco Cataldi, a colleague of Beccari, was also wounded during this robbery.[9]

On 20 April 1988, two carabinieri, Cataldo Stasi and Umberto Erriu, were killed after they stopped the gang at a car park in Castel Maggiore, near Bologna.[10][11] Carabiniere Domenico Macauda was subsequently found to have intentionally misdirected the investigation and manipulated evidence, he was convicted to eight years in prison.[12][13]

In 1989, Adolfino Alessandri, a 52-year-old eyewitness, was shot dead during a supermarket robbery in the Corticella neighbourhood of Bologna.[14]

In 1990, the White Uno Gang killed a total of six people. On 15 January 1990, pensioner Giancarlo Armorati was seriously injured during a post office robbery, which injured 55 others, in Via Mazzini in Bologna. He died a year later from his injuries. On 6 October 1990, street cleaner Primo Zecchi was killed after writing down the criminals' license plate number.[15][16]

On 23 December 1990, the gang opened fire on Romani caravans in Via Gobetti, Bologna killing Rodolfo Bellinati and Patrizia Della Santina, and injuring others.[17] On 27 December 1990, 50-year-old Luigi Pasqui was killed in a robbery at a Castel Maggiore petrol station while trying to raise the alarm; a few minutes later the gang killed Paride Pedini, who had approached the white Uno they had just abandoned.[18]

The Pilastro massacre

[edit]

On 4 January 1991, at around 10pm, in the Pilastro district of Bologna, the White Uno Gang opened fire on a patrol group of carabinieri, killing three.[19] The victims were Otello Stefanini, Andrea Moneta, and Mauro Mitilini. The gang were in Pilastro by chance as they had been on their way to San Lazzaro di Savena looking for a car to steal. In Via Casini the gang's car was overtaken by the patrol; which was interpreted as an attempt to record the license plate. Driving alongside, gang leader Roberto Savi fired at Stefanini who was driving.[20] The carabinieri tried to escape but crashed into rubbish bins, shortly after the car was hit by a shower of bullets.[21] Andrea Moneta and Mauro Mitilini, managed to respond, injuring Roberto Savi, but were eventually overwhelmed by the gang.

The gang took the patrol service paper and fled the site of the conflict. The white Uno involved in the massacre was abandoned in San Lazzaro di Savena in the car park of Via Gramsci and burned; one of the seats was stained with Savi's blood. The massacre was immediately claimed by the terrorist group Falange Armata.

The massacre remained unsolved until the gang confessed during the trial on 25 January 1995. The investigators followed incorrect leads, with disparity between the carabinieri and state police investigations, which led them to indict suspects unrelated to the crime. The carabinieri believed that the gang led by ex-carabiniere paratrooper Damiano Bechis was responsible,[22][23][24] to which various robberies in Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany had been attributed, including the murder of Primo Zecchi. Due to the nature of the crimes they believed the gang must have had links to the military or law enforcement.[25][26][27][28] While on 20 June 1992, the DIGOS, on the basis of a false testimony from alleged eyewitness Simonetta Bersani,[29][30] arrested brothers Peter and William Santagata, as well as camorrista Marco Medda[31][32]

1991 - 1994

[edit]

In 1991 the White Uno Gang committed a number of murders. On 20 April 1991, the gang killed Claudio Bonfiglioli during a robbery at his petrol station in Borgo Panigale.[33]

On 2 May 1991, during a raid on a gun shop in Bologna they killed shop-owner Licia Ansaloni and retired carabiniere Pietro Capolungo.[34] During the robbery a woman saw Roberto Savi outside the shop, and later provided an identikit to the investigators. This was shown to Ansaloni's husband who admitted it closely resembled Savi who was a regular customer. However, the investigators failed to connect Savi to the blood evidence.[35]

On 19 June 1991, Graziano Mirri was killed in front of his wife during a robbery at his petrol station in Viale Marconi, Cesena.[36][37]

On 18 August 1991, the gang killed two Senegalese labourers, Ndiaj Malik and Babou Chejkh, and injured a third, Madiaw Draw, in a racist attack in San Mauro Mare. Shortly after, the gang fired shots at a group of young men Fiat Ritmo.[38]

In 1992 there were no recorded murders, but the gang committed four bank robberies and another in a supermarket.[39]

On 24 February 1993, 21-year-old Massimiliano Valenti was killed after witnessing the gang change vehicles during a bank robbery.[37][40][41] The gang kidnapped the young man and then transported him to an isolated area where he was executed.[42] His body was found in a ditch in the municipality of Zola Predosa.

On 7 October 1993, the gang killed electrician Carlo Poli in the Riale neighbourhood of Zola Predosa.[43]

In 1994 the gang intensified its criminal activity towards banks, robbing a total of 9 during the year.[39] On 24 May 1991, the director of the Cassa di Risparmio di Pesaro bank, Ubaldo Paci, was shot dead while he was opening the branch.[44][45]

On the evening of 21 November 1994, then assistant chief of police, Roberto Savi was arrested while on duty. Three days later, his brother Fabio was arrested at an Autogrill 27 kilometres from the Austrian border with his Romanian lover Eva Edit Mikula. Later, the state police arrested the other members of the gang.

Members

[edit]

Roberto Savi

[edit]

Known as the monk (Italian: il monaco) for his silent character, Roberto Savi was the first of the gang to be arrested. He was born in Forlì on 19 May 1954 and, together with his brother Alberto, was a member of the Polizia di Stato at the police headquarters in Bologna. At the time of his arrest he held the rank of assistant chief and worked in the operations centre.

As a young man he was an activist in the far-right Fronte della Gioventù.[46]

In 1976, at the age of 22, Savi entered the police force and took service in Bologna. He was transferred to the operations centre in 1992 for disciplinary reasons, after shaving the head of a young boy found in possession of narcotic substances.

During the trial, his wife, who was aware of his criminal activities, described him as a strange and aggressive man with a taciturn and reticent character, who didn’t spend much time with people apart from his brothers and spent much of his time playing video games. He had threatened her with a pistol on a number of occasions.

Savi's blunt coldness shocked the audience as he described the most atrocious crimes he committed; when answering questions in the courtroom, he would respond with "affirmative" or "negative".

Roberto Savi was sentenced to life imprisonment. On 1 October 2008 he remarried a Dutch inmate in Monza prison.[47]

Fabio Savi

[edit]

Known as il lungo, Fabio was co-founder of the gang. Born in Forlì on 22 April 1960, like his brothers he also applied to join the police, but issues with his eyesight prevented him. He was reportedly arrogant and aggressive and had a bad temper.

He worked as a coachbuilder and truck driver, living in Torriana with his Romanian girlfriend, Eva Mikula, whose testimony was decisive in the resolution of the case.

Together with Roberto, he was involved in all of the gang’s crimes. Fabio was arrested a few days after his brother while trying to leave the country. After being sentenced to life imprisonment, he was transferred to the Sollicciano prison in Florence, and later to Fossombrone.[48]

Alberto Savi

[edit]

Born in Cesena on 19 February 1965, Alberto is the younger brother of Roberto and Fabio. At the time of his arrest on 26 November 1995, Alberto was a serving officer in the Rimini police force. He was reportedly weak-willed and easily influenced by his older brothers.

Alberto Savi was sentenced to life imprisonment. On 23 October 2010, he asked to be released after 16 years in prison. In February 2017, he was granted permission to leave prison for 12 hours to see his mother who was gravely ill.[49] Since 2019 he has been given similar permissions for the Christmas holiday.

Pietro Gugliotta

[edit]

Born in Catania in 1960, Pietro did not take part in any murders. Also a police officer, he worked as a radio operator at the police headquarters in Bologna together with Roberto Savi. Pietro Gugliotta was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment, he was released in 2008.[50]

Marino Occhipinti

[edit]

Born in Santa Sofia, 25 February 1965 Occhipinti was a minor member of the gang. He took part in an assault in Casalecchio di Reno on 19 February 1988, during which security guard Carlo Beccari died, he was therefore sentenced to life imprisonment.[51]

Occhipinti was released on 2 July 2018, in an interview he apologised to Beccari's family.[52] On 28 March 2022, he was arrested for beating his partner and has returned to prison.[53]

Luca Vallicelli

[edit]

At the time of his arrest on 29 November 1994, Luca Vallicelli was a police officer in the Polizia stradale in Cesena. A minor member of the gang, he only participated in the first robberies, in which no one was killed. He pled guilty and was sentenced to three years and eight months.[51]

The Savi brothers' father, Giuliano Savi, committed suicide on 29 March 1998, swallowing seven boxes of Lorazepam in a white Uno parked at Villa Verucchio, 13 kilometres from Rimini.[54]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Banda della "Uno bianca", scarcerato l'ex poliziotto Marino Occhipinti". Il Messaggero. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  2. ^ La Banda della «Uno bianca» implora il perdono Il Giornale 5 gennaio 2006
  3. ^ List of criminal actions
  4. ^ Lucarelli, Carlo (2001). "Blu Notte - La banda della Uno Bianca". RaiPlay (TV documentary).
  5. ^ Sovrintendente della Polizia di Stato Comm.to di Rimini (Oggi Questura)29 luglio 1989
  6. ^ la banda della uno bianca 2ª parte – YouTube
  7. ^ "Uno bianca in Romagna Altri tre ergastoli per i fratelli Savi". Corriere della Sera. 7 March 1996.
  8. ^ shtml "Fanne another son" Corriere della Sera 21 November 1995
  9. ^ bomb-resta.html ASSAULT TO THE VAN WITH A BOMB REMAINS KILLED A JURED GUARD La Repubblica 20 February 1988
  10. ^ Wound never closed for the family of Umberto Erriu[permanent dead link‍] L 'Unione Sarda 24 February 1995
  11. ^ per-un-processo.html One white twenty years for a useless processLa Repubblica 17 April 2008
  12. ^ Uno bianca: si indaga su un ex carabiniere Corriere della Sera 9 dicembre 1994
  13. ^ Bianca: un carabiniere aiutò a uccidere 2 colleghi? Corriere della Sera – ottobre 1996
  14. ^ «Uno bianca», storia maledetta anche in tv Corriere della Sera 4 febbraio 2001
  15. ^ 3 ottobre 2007 Intitolazione del Giardino della "Noce" a Primo Zecchi
  16. ^ "Quelle "esecuzioni" della Uno bianca". la Repubblica. 25 February 1993. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
  17. ^ TERRORE NEL CAMPO – NOMADI ' CI DIFENDEREMO CON LE ARMI' La Repubblica 27 dicembre 1990
  18. ^ BOLOGNA NELLA MORSA DELLA VIOLENZA La Repubblica 28 dicembre 1990
  19. ^ "Uno Bianca, al Pilastro il ricordo dell'eccidio". la Repubblica (Bologna). 4 January 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
  20. ^ STEFANINI OTELLO Sito dei dell'Arma dei Carabinieri
  21. ^ "Rai.tv". Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  22. ^ Moscato, Giampiero (12 March 1992). "I paracadutisti della Uno bianca" [The paramilitaries of the White Uno Gang]. Corriere della Sera. p. 13.
  23. ^ Paolo Giovannetti, Almost noir: indagini non autorizzate su Carlo Lucarelli Arcipelago, 2005, pp. 89-90 [1]
  24. ^ eccidio del Pilastro, strage di mafia Corriere della Sera settembre 1993
  25. ^ "UNO BIANCA: CONTINUANO LE INDAGINI". adnkronos. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  26. ^ strage del Pilastro: sospettato un quarto uomo Corriere della Sera 13 maggio 1993
  27. ^ UNA FAMIGLIA DI KILLER PER LA STRAGE DEL PILASTRO ARRESTATO IL TERZO UOMO La Repubblica 10 settembre 1992
  28. ^ "19 arresti portano alla "Uno bianca"" (PDF). Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  29. ^ "'Loro erano con i Savi, ma...'". 3 June 1995. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  30. ^ "'Sono loro i tre killer dei carabinieri uccisero per coprire un caric'". 23 May 1993. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  31. ^ "Un fermo per la strage del Pilastro". 24 June 1992. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  32. ^ "'È il boss Medda, era a Bologna il giorno della strage del Pilastro'". 4 January 2021. 25 January 1992.
  33. ^ 'I KILLER VOGLIONO IMPAURIRE BOLOGNA' La Repubblica 23 aprile 1991
  34. ^ BANDE ASSASSINE CONTRO BOLOGNA La Repubblica 3 maggio 1991
  35. ^ La Banda della Uno Bianca La storia siamo noi-RaiTre
  36. ^ Luigi Spezia (21 June 1991). "I KILLER DI BOLOGNA UCCIDONO ANCORA". La Repubblica. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  37. ^ a b Paola Cascella (28 February 1993). "UNA FIRMA PER QUEL DELITTO". La Repubblica. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  38. ^ TROVATE TRACCE DEI KILLER DI RIMINI La Repubblica 29 agosto 1991
  39. ^ a b Elenco azioni criminali della banda
  40. ^ "QUELLE ESECUZIONI DELLA UNO BIANCA". La Repubblica. 25 February 1993.
  41. ^ l'omicidio di Bologna. ancora indizi verso la "Uno bianca" Corriere della Sera 27 febbraio 1993
  42. ^ TROPPE SPIETATE ANALOGIE A BOLOGNA TORNA L'INCUBO DELLA 'UNO BIANCA' La Repubblica 26 febbraio 1993
  43. ^ Uno Bianca, quattro ergastoli Corriere della Sera 1º giugno 1997
  44. ^ sparò il "lungo" della Uno bianca Corriere della Sera 27 maggio 1994
  45. ^ la banda della Uno bianca torna a colpire: ucciso un bancario Corriere della Sera maggio 1994
  46. ^ QUANTI ERRORI CON LA UNO BIANCA ... La Repubblica 21 aprile 1995
  47. ^ "Roberto Savi si risposa in carcere". La Repubblica. 1 October 2008.
  48. ^ «Iniziò per scherzo, finì con 24 delitti» Corriere della Sera 14 ottobre 2001
  49. ^ "Uno bianca, l'avvocato di Alberto Savi: "Il dolore non l'ha mai abbandonato"". 6 April 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  50. ^ "Uno bianca: Pietro Gugliotta torna libero per fine pena". ansa.it. 25 July 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2008.
  51. ^ a b " ma non ammanettatemi davanti ai miei " Corriere della Sera, 30 novembre 1994
  52. ^ Esposito, Amelia (3 July 2018). "Il bandito della Uno Bianca Occhipinti è libero. "Pentito, non è pericoloso"". Corriere del Veneto. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  53. ^ "Botte alla compagna, ex componente della Uno Bianca torna in carcere". Il Gazzettino. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  54. ^ "Morte del padre". Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
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