The Crime Book

322

I KISS YOU FOR

THE LAST TIME

THE ABDUCTION OF ALDO MORO, 16 MARCH 1978

O

n 16 March 1978, four

members of the Red

Brigades ambushed Aldo

Moro’s car in Rome. The armed

terrorists fired 91 bullets from a

submachine gun towards the car

escorting Moro; more than 40

of the bullets hit the bodyguards

and police officers, killing them all.

Kidnapped at gunpoint, Moro was

taken alive.

Moro was Italy’s longest-serving

postwar prime minister. He held

office five times between 1963 and

1976. In 1978, he was working to
      end a government crisis, and had
      proposed a coalition between his
      Christian Democratic Party and the
      rival Italian Communist Party. This
      so-called “Historic Compromise”
      enraged both sides of the Italian
      political spectrum, but Moro
      remained a favourite to win that
      year’s election and become prime
      minister once more.
      The Red Brigades was a far-Left
      terrorist group hoping to start a
      communist revolution in Italy, by

IN CONTEXT

LOCATION

Rome, Italy

THEME

Murder by radical groups

BEFORE

March 1881 Russian Tsar

Alexander II is killed by a

bomb thrown by members of

a group known as Narodnaya

Volya, the “People’s Will”.

28 June 1914 The

assassination of Archduke

Franz Ferdinand of Austria by

“Black Hand” anarchist Gavrilo

Princip in Sarajevo is a major

catalyst for World War I.

AFTER

October 1986 West German

diplomat Gerold von

Braunmühl is assassinated by

a guerrilla organization known

as the “Red Army Faction”.

August 1989 Huey Newton,

Founder of the Black Panther

Party, is killed by a member

of the Black Guerrilla Family

in Oakland, California.

What was the prime minister’s life worth?

The Red Brigades

proposed that 14

leftist prisoners,

including Renato

Curcio, be exchanged

for Moro in April 1978.

322-323_Aldo_Moro.indd 322 02/12/2016 15:05

323

See also: The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping 178–85 ■ The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln 306–09 ■ The Kidnapping

of Ingrid Betancourt 324–25

ASSASSINATIONS AND POLITICAL PLOTS

way of a campaign of bombings,

assassinations, and abductions.

Following the arrest of founding

Red Brigades members, such as

Renato Curcio, the well-liked Moro

became their next target. The

Brigadists waylaid Moro’s convoy

on its way to the Chamber of

Deputies, and kidnapped him.

Fruitless demands

One week after the abduction, the

group claimed responsibility for

Moro’s kidnap and threatened to kill

him if their demands were not met.

In a controversial decision, the Italian

government staunchly refused to

negotiate. The Italian Communist

party notably disavowed the

terrorists, and declared that they

would not enter into a coalition if

the demands were met.

Moro himself wrote many letters

pleading with the government to

save his life – as did his family,

supporters, and even Pope Paul VI.

Hundreds of suspected terrorists

were arrested as police scoured the

country for Moro but they failed to

find solid clues to his whereabouts.

On 15 April, the Red Brigades

announced that they had sentenced

Moro to death. Knowing that he

was going to die, Moro sent a final

letter to his wife. Abandoned in his

time of need, he also requested that

no one from his political party

attend his funeral. Two days later,

on 9 May 1978, Moro was murdered

by the Red Brigades leader, Mario

Moretti. Thanks to an anonymous

tip, police found Moro’s corpse,

riddled with bullets, in a truck near

the historic centre of Rome. He had

been shot in the heart 11 times.

Finding the killers

In the aftermath of Moro’s death,

many more suspected terrorists

were detained. Embarrassed by the

whole affair, the Italian government

introduced new measures in 1980

to capture those responsible for

Moro’s murder. They introduced

lighter penalties for pentiti – those

who decided to “repent” and inform

on their former comrades.

Despite these measures, the

apparent mastermind behind

Moro’s execution was not caught

until April 1981. Mario Moretti was

finally arrested at a farm between

Milan and Pavia, during a massive

sweep operation conducted across

northern Italy. He received six life

sentences for his crimes. ■

Protecting politicians

Bodyguards protecting high-

ranking politicians, public

officials, or soldiers, take an

oath of commitment to

safeguard an individual by

risking their own lives. All

major politicians are protected

by security details – these are

usually assigned by their

departments, but some also hire

private bodyguards, especially

after their time in office ends.

Some countries have

dedicated security corps to

protect their most powerful

citizens – for example, the US

Secret Service, which guards the

president, or the Swiss Guards,

who protect the Pope.

Bodyguards plan escape

routes, scout venues for escape

routes and potential threats, and

escort their client on their

day-to-day activities. In peak

physical condition, bodyguards

are often members of law

enforcement or former members

of the military. They are usually

trained in firearms, combat,

and first aid, and some

bodyguards also specialize in

fields such as bomb detection.

Aldo Moro stands in front of the flag

of the Red Brigades on 17 March 1978.

That day, the group held a “people’s

trial” of Moro, timed to coincide with

the trial of Brigadist prisoners in Turin.

He knew it was over. I didn’t

deceive him. All I told him

was to get himself ready

because we had to go out.

Mario Moretti

322-323_Aldo_Moro.indd 323 02/12/2016 15:05