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Giuliano Mignini

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Public Minister
Giuliano Mignini
Born1950
EducationLaw degree
Alma materUniversity of Perugia
OccupationPublic prosecutor
Years activeMagistrate since 1979
Known forMonster of Florence
Murder of Meredith Kercher
ChildrenFour daughters[1]

Giuliano Mignini (born 1950)[3] is a public prosecutor in Perugia, Italy.

He is known for his involvement as the prosecutor in the investigation of the death of Dr. Francesco Narducci, who was discovered drowned in 1985, which Mignini alleged was connected to the Monster of Florence case, resulting in the unsuccessful prosecution of a number of individuals.

He came to wider public attention as the prosecutor who led the 2007 investigation into the murder of Meredith Kercher, and the subsequent prosecution of Rudy Guede, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito. Knox and Sollecito were eventually acquitted in March 2015.[4]

Education and career

Mignini obtained his law degree from the University of Perugia. He passed the magistrate's examination in 1979, and worked for one year in Volterra, where he served as investigator and prosecutor, before returning to Perugia.[3] As of 2011, he serves there as an assistant prosecutor (sostituto procuratore).[5][6]

Notable cases

Monster of Florence

Main article: Monster of Florence

A series of murders that took place around Florence, Italy, between 1968 and 1985 were known as the Monster of Florence murders. At different points in time, four different people were tried and convicted for the crimes (and subsequently released in most cases). Newspaper critics have expressed the view that the true killer (or killers) have never been identified by the police.[7]

Dr. Francesco Narducci's body was recovered from Lake Trasimeno near Perugia, Italy, in 1985 and was initially determined to be a drowning.[8][9] His body was discovered a month after the final double-murder linked to the Monster of Florence. Police and prosecutors initially investigated Narducci's death as connected to the murders after a number of anonymous letters were received, but police were unable to find evidence of a connection.[10][11] In the summer of 2001, police wiretaps recorded a conversation threatening a woman that if she did not pay what was owed she would end up like Narducci.[10][11] Subsequent threatening phone calls to the same woman referred to the "murder of Pacciani" (one of the suspects in the Monster of Florence case who was found dead in suspicious circumstances[12]) and said that both had been killed by members of a secret society for betraying them.[13] In early 2002, Mignini had Narducci's body exhumed and examined. Mignini believed that the body was not decomposed enough to be Narducci's. A medical examination determined that the body was in fact Narducci's. Mignini then theorised that the body had been swapped twice.[10] Mignini alleged that Narducci had been involved in a secret society and killed to keep quiet and that his father, Ugo Narducci, a member of a masonic lodge, had masterminded the cover up.[14][15] Mignini's theory involved a complicated conspiracy of 20 people, including government officials and law enforcement officers. Mignini indicted 20 people and charged them with the concealment of Narducci's murder. The charges were eventually dismissed.[16] Narducci's family and colleagues believe that his death was a suicide.[14]

In April 2006 Mignini had Italian journalist Mario Spezi arrested for complicity in the homicides of the Monster of Florence case and interfering with an investigation. Spezi was held for 23 days, 5 without a lawyer.[17]

On 22 March 2013 the Third Circuit Court of Cassation (Supreme Court of Italy) ruled that the main case related to criminal conduct "did not exist", and that Francesco Narducci died by suicide.[18] In sustaining the lower court acquittals, the Court of Cassation also sent back for re-trial some of the parallel slander charges.

Allegations of abuse of office

In 2006, Mignini was charged with abuse of office for allegedly ordering the illegal wiretapping of the phones of various police officers and journalists involved in the Monster of Florence case.[17] In January 2010, a Florence court found him guilty of exceeding the powers of his office but acquitted of the remaining charges.[5] He was given a 16-month suspended sentence. Mignini appealed the conviction, saying "My conscience is clear, I know I did nothing wrong." [19] He remained in office through the appeal process, as Italian law does not consider convictions final until all appeals are exhausted.[20][21] In November 2011, the Court of Appeal in Florence overturned Mignini's conviction for lack of jurisdiction and referred the case to the prosecutor in Turin to decide whether to re-file the charges.[22] According to Rome-based journalist and author Barbie Latza Nadeau, even if Mignini were convicted, offenses such as this are rarely grounds for removing a prosecutor from office.[23]

Murder of Meredith Kercher

Main article: Murder of Meredith Kercher

Meredith Kercher was a young woman murdered in Perugia on 1 November 2007. Mignini was lead prosecutor and directed the investigation of the case.[24][25]

In October 2011, Mignini told a reporter from the British newspaper The Guardian "I have felt under attack ever since I investigated Narducci. It all started there." He further suggested that the trial for abuse of power was related to persecution for his role in the Monster of Florence case and blamed American author Douglas Preston, co-author with Spezi of a book about the case, of masterminding a U.S. press campaign against him over the Knox case. As part of his summing up in the first Knox appeal he said "our judicial system has been subjected to a systematic denigration by a well-organised operation of a journalistic and political nature".[26]

Preston has criticized the conduct of Mignini[27] in the trial. In April 2009, Preston appeared in a segment of 48 Hours on CBS, in which he argued that the case against Knox was "based on lies, superstition, and crazy conspiracy theories".[28] In December 2009, after the verdict had been announced, he appeared on Anderson Cooper 360° on CNN and described his own interrogation by Mignini.[29]

In 2013, Knox and Sollecito's case was committed to another prosecutor, Alessandro Crini, who requested and obtained the convictions in their retrial.[30] Knox and Sollecito were acquitted on 27 March 2015, ending the case.[4]

Satellite prosecutions initiated by Mignini

In February 2013, Mignini launched a defamation suit against Raffaele Sollecito, for allegations in Sollecito's book, "Honor Bound", including claims of secret negotiations between Mignini and Sollecito's family.[31]

Brigitta Bulgari

In June 2010, Mignini was the prosecutor involved in the case of porn star Brigitta Bulgari who was arrested and held for 11 days after being charged with child pornography; this followed the surfacing of a mobile phone video showing 15-year-old boys touching her in her private parts while she performed as a stripper in an Umbria night club.[32][33][34] The charges brought against her come with a prison sentence of 6–10 years.[32] Bulgari was acquitted in October 2011 and stated that she was "just trying to make a living" and that she felt sorry for Amanda Knox, pointing out that they were both investigated by the same prosecutor.[33] She also said that she would seek monetary damages against Mignini for "muddying her name" and planned to write a book about her experiences after arrest[33] and that she was giving up her work as a porn actress to become a disc jockey.[32]

See also

References

  1. ^ Burleigh 2011, p. 155.
  2. ^ Burleigh, Nina. The Fatal Gift of Beauty: The Trials of Amanda Knox. Broadway, 2011, p. 159. ISBN 978-0-307-58858-6
  3. ^ a b Burleigh 2011, pp. 153–154.
  4. ^ a b BBC News "Italian court acquits Knox and Sollecito of Kercher murder". BBC. 28 March 2015. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  5. ^ a b "Mostro di Firenze, condannati il pm Mignini e il poliziotto Giuttari". Corriere.it. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  6. ^ "Portale Ufficiale". Procura.Perugia.it. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  7. ^ for one account and critique of the investigations and prosecutions see The Monster of Florence: A True Story a 2008 book by American thriller writer Douglas Preston and Italian journalist Mario Spezi.
  8. ^ Mostro di Firenze, caso Narducci: prosciolti tutti gli imputati, Quotidiano.net, 21 April 2010.
  9. ^ NON MORI' ANNEGATO MA PER STRANGOLAMENTO, L'ALTRO CORPO, La Stampa, 7 October 2002.
  10. ^ a b c Mostro di Firenze, nuova pista il mistero del medico suicida, la Repubblica, 31 January 2002.
  11. ^ a b Vertice sulla strana morte del dottor Narducci, la Repubblica, 18 June 2002.
  12. ^ Morte di Pacciani, si indaga per omicidio, Corriere della Sera, 30 March 2001.
  13. ^ =Giuttari, Michele; Lucarelli, Carlo. Compagni di sangue, Rizzoli 1999, ISBN 88-17-25858-X Reproduces the transcripts of the telephone conversations
  14. ^ a b CASO NARDUCCI-MOSTRO DI FIRENZE/ PARLA IL PADRE. "FRANCESCO ERA MALATO E SI E' SUICIDATO", Umbria Left, 18 July 2008.
  15. ^ Mostro di Firenze, l' ultima accusa: sostituita la salma del medico ucciso, Corriere della Sera, 18 November 2004.
  16. ^ Monster of Florence: Amanda Knox Prosecutor's Satanic Theories Rejected by Judge, Crimesider, CBS News, 23 April 2010.
  17. ^ a b Del Vigo, Silvio: "I metodi di Giuliano Mignini: sei mio nemico? Vai indagato", blog.panorama.it, 2 August 2010, accessed 17 October 2011.
  18. ^ http://m.ilmessaggero.it/m/messaggero/articolo/umbria/260272 Caso Narducci, l'inchiesta riparte da una lettera, Il Messaggero, 23 March 2013.
  19. ^ Henderson, Mark. The Times. London http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6999196.ece. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ^ Preston, Douglas (25 November 2010). "Amanda Knox appeal: 'Italians are embarrassed by this case'". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 16 October 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ Vogt, Andrea: "The debate continues over Knox's guilt", SeattlePI.com, 14 December 2009, accessed 17 October 2011.
  22. ^ "Mostro Firenze: Annullate condanne a pm Mignini e Giuttari". ANSA. 22 November 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  23. ^ Barbie, Nadeau (2010). Angel Face. Beast Books. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-9842951-3-5. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  24. ^ Povoledo, Elisabetta: "Amanda Knox Freed After Appeal in Italian Court", The New York Times, 3 October 2011. Accessed 19 October 2011.
  25. ^ Burleigh, Nina (2011). "Amanda Knox Trial: The Tough Women Involved in the Case". time.com. Time (magazine). Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  26. ^ Kington, Tom: "Giuliano Mignini: Knox prosecutor who believes he is the conspiracy victim", The Guardian, 3 October 2011, accessed at guardian.com on 22 October 2011.
  27. ^ Tales from Italy’s Dark Side: Interview with Douglas Preston http://www.nuok.it/2010/05/tales-from-italy-s-dark-side-interview-with-douglas-preston/
  28. ^ American Girl, Italian Nightmare from CBS News
  29. ^ American Student Convicted of Murder in Italy; President Obama's Approval Numbers Sliding, Anderson Cooper 360° transcript
  30. ^ GoNews
  31. ^ admon: "Sollecito querelato per diffamazione da Giuliano Mignini", La Foccia, 15 February 2013, accessed at lagoccia.eu on 15 February 2013.
  32. ^ a b c "Assolta la pornostar Brigitta: non coinvolse minori nella sua esibizione", Panorama.it, 6 October 2011, accessed 25 October 2011.
  33. ^ a b c "Belluno/ La pornostar Bulgari assolta. "Io come Amanda"", Libero.it, 8 October 2011, accessed 25 October 2011.
  34. ^ Martinez, Edecio: "Brigitta Bulgari: Playboy Model Arrested on Child Sex Charges", cbsnews.com, June 2, 2010, accessed 25 October 2011.

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