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The Star
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Italian anti-Mafia author weeps in court as mob boss convicted
FILE PHOTO: Screenwriter and author Roberto Saviano poses during a photocall to promote the movie "La Paranza dei Bambini" (Piranhas) at the 69th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, February 12, 2019. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo ROME (Reuters) -Italian anti-Mafia author Roberto Saviano wept in court on Monday as judges upheld a conviction against a notorious mob boss who was found to have threatened him. Francesco Bidognetti, a former leader of the Neapolitan Camorra mafia who was already serving life for a slew of other serious crimes, was sentenced to 18 months for intimidation. The Rome court of appeals confirmed a 2021 ruling by a lower court, as it also upheld a 14-month sentence for Bidognetti's former lawyer, Michele Santonastaso, for the same crime. After the verdict, Saviano, 45, sobbed profusely as he hugged his lawyer. He told reporters that Camorra mobsters had "stolen his life", forcing him to live under 24-hour protection. The convictions are related to a message Santonastaso read out in court in 2008, during another trial, on behalf of Bidognetti and another Camorra boss. The message contained an "invitation" to Saviano and another journalist to "do (their) job properly", interpreted as a not-so-subtle hint to stop writing about the Neapolitan mafia. Saviano has lived under police escort since 2006, when he published "Gomorrah", an expose on the Camorra that has also been made into a film and a TV series. The book's huge success turned Saviano into a public figure but also into an enemy for Bidognetti's ruthless Camorra clan, the Casalesi. (Reporting by Paolo Chiriatti, writing by Alvise ArmelliniEditing by Keith Weir)
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
Italian anti-Mafia author weeps in court as mob boss convicted
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Screenwriter and author Roberto Saviano poses during a photocall to promote the movie \"La Paranza dei Bambini\" (Piranhas) at the 69th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, February 12, 2019. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo ROME - Italian anti-Mafia author Roberto Saviano wept in court on Monday as judges upheld a conviction against a notorious mob boss who was found to have threatened him. Francesco Bidognetti, a former leader of the Neapolitan Camorra mafia who was already serving life for a slew of other serious crimes, was sentenced to 18 months for intimidation. The Rome court of appeals confirmed a 2021 ruling by a lower court, as it also upheld a 14-month sentence for Bidognetti's former lawyer, Michele Santonastaso, for the same crime. After the verdict, Saviano, 45, sobbed profusely as he hugged his lawyer. He told reporters that Camorra mobsters had "stolen his life", forcing him to live under 24-hour protection. The convictions are related to a message Santonastaso read out in court in 2008, during another trial, on behalf of Bidognetti and another Camorra boss. The message contained an "invitation" to Saviano and another journalist to "do (their) job properly", interpreted as a not-so-subtle hint to stop writing about the Neapolitan mafia. Saviano has lived under police escort since 2006, when he published "Gomorrah", an expose on the Camorra that has also been made into a film and a TV series. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore HSA intensifies crackdown on vapes; young suspected Kpod peddlers nabbed in Bishan, Yishun Singapore Man charged over distributing nearly 3 tonnes of vapes in one day in Bishan, Ubi Avenue 3 Singapore Public healthcare institutions to record all Kpod cases, confiscate vapes: MOH, HSA Singapore Man allegedly attacks woman with knife at Kallang Wave Mall, to be charged with attempted murder Singapore Singapore boosts support for Timor-Leste as it prepares to join Asean Singapore UN aviation and maritime agencies pledge to collaborate to boost safety, tackle challenges Singapore High Court dismisses appeal of drink driver who killed one after treating Tampines road like racetrack Singapore 18 years' jail for woman who hacked adoptive father to death after tussle over Sengkang flat The book's huge success turned Saviano into a public figure but also into an enemy for Bidognetti's ruthless Camorra clan, the Casalesi. REUTERS
