Report: the Vatican Was Paid $660,000 to Bury a Mob Boss Next to Former Popes

By Sanya Khetani
Business Insider
May 1, 2012

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-04-30/news/31485929_1_vatican-bank-official-mob-boss-basilica

In the most recent scandal involving the Vatican, the Church allegedly accepted a sum of one billion lire (about $660,000) in 1990 to bury the remains of mobster Enrico de Pedis in a basilica, next to various popes and cardinals, The Independent reports.

The paper cites a source from ANSA.it (though the report appears to be offline) who says that "despite initial reluctance" the then vicar-general of Rome, Cardinal Ugo Poletti, "in the face of such a conspicuous sum, gave his blessing" to the arrangement, despite the fact that de Pedis had been the head of the notorious Magliana gang. The money was reportedly used on missions and to restore the Basilica. The Vatican has refused to comment.

The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare (Wikimedia Commons/Berthold Werner)

To make matters worse, the mob boss in question is at the center of another scandal that also involves the Vatican, one where he was responsible for kidnapping the daughter of a Vatican bank official in 1983.

For years, rumors have swirled that her body was buried alongside his in the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare, where de Pedis’ widow paid to have him interred, and that the Vatican knew more than they claimed to about the incident. Many have been clamoring to have his grave re-opened to once and for all prove or dispel the rumors.

The Vatican recently finally gave into the mounting pressure, and has announced that de Pedis’ grave will be opened, and his remains transferred to a common cemetery next Friday, according to Corriere Della Sera.