Michele Sindona
| Michele Sindona | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
May 8, 1920 Patti, Sicily, Italy |
| Died | March 22, 1986 (aged 65) Voghera, Lombardy, Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Alma mater | University of Messina |
| Occupation | Banker, lawyer |
| Organization |
Gambino crime family Propaganda Due |
| Political party |
Christian Democracy (Italy) Republican Party (United States) |
| Spouse(s) | Caterina Sindona (1950s-his death) |
| Children | Marco Nino A daughter |
Michele Sindona (May 8, 1920 – March 22, 1986) was an Italian banker and convicted felon. Known in banking circles as "The Shark", Sindona was a member of Propaganda Due (#0501), a secret lodge of Italian Freemasonry, and had clear connections to the Sicilian Mafia. He was fatally poisoned in prison while serving a life sentence for the murder of lawyer Giorgio Ambrosoli.
Born at Patti, Sicily, of poor parents, Michele Sindona was educated by the Jesuits, showing very early in his life an unusual aptitude for mathematics and economics. He graduated with a law degree from the University of Messina in 1942. Then he moved from Sicily to the north where he worked as a tax lawyer and an accountant for companies such as Società Generale Immobiliare and Snia Viscosa, but immediately turned away from the law and began working in smuggling operations with the Mafia. He soon moved to Milan and his skill and dexterity in transferring money to avoid taxation soon became known to Mafia bosses. By 1957 he had become closely associated with the Gambino family and was chosen to manage their profits from heroin sales.
Within a year of the Gambino family choosing him to manage their heroin profits, Sindona had bought his first bank. He also became a friend of future Pope Giovanni Battista Montini who was at the time Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Milan. By the time Montini became Pope, Sindona had acquired, through his holding company Fasco, many more Italian banks and his progress continued right up to the beginning of his association with the Vatican Bank in 1969. Huge amounts of money moved from Sindona's banks through the Vatican to Swiss banks, and he began speculating against major currencies on a large scale.
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