Death and the Dolce Vita by Stephen Gundle

Author:Stephen Gundle
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Canongate Books
Published: 2011-03-27T20:00:00+00:00

XVI

Dr Sepe Reports

Raffaele Sepe concluded the main part of his investigation in November 1954 and delivered the mass of evidence he had gathered to the Procurator’s Office for it to be evaluated formally.By this time Angelo Sigurani had been replaced as procurator general by Leonardo Giocoli,who,with his deputies Marcello Scardia and Alfonso Colonnesi, worked through thousands of documents, recorded interviews, reports and notes until the middle of March 1955.The three men found that there was a case to answer and prepared a report that requested that Piero Piccioni, Ugo Montagna, Saverio Polito, the Capocotta guards and some of the minor characters be sent for trial. The matter was then handed back to Sepe to draft his final conclusions. This cumbersome procedure was intended to allow the investigating magistrate to have the final word within the framework established by the procurators. Sepe worked through the report and drafted his own concluding document,the sentenza di rinvio, or ‘charge sentence’, which was finally deposited on 10 July 1955.

This was the crowning moment of his long trawl through the mysteries of the Montesi case, his encounter with almost every corner of Roman society.The meticulous investigator had been at work for sixteen months and in that time he had become a popular figure. He was sometimes applauded when he was spotted in public and magazines had written him up as an honest opponent of privilege and corruption. In fact, Raffaele Sepe was nothing of the sort. Born into an established Roman family, he was not naturally inclined to set himself against vested interests. More than anything, it was his physical bulk that endowed him with a jovial, pleasing image. In photographs he appeared cordial and friendly, an approachable man who went about his business with diligence and aplomb. In the course of his enquiries he had looked into a variety of matters including Wilma Montesi’s background and family, the issue of her train trip to Ostia, the question of how she had come to be found at Torvaianica, and the circumstances of her death. He had explored Montagna’s affairs and activities at Capocotta, and looked into Piccioni’s personal life and alibi. He had listened at length to Anna Maria Caglio and the tales she had to tell of her experiences in the capital and elsewhere. He had done his best to be thorough, even welcoming into his office an endless parade of dubious witnesses in the hope that one might hold a key to the mystery.Together, he and his faithful assistant Zinza had turned over almost every plausible stone in the case.

It was not known at the time that Sepe had faced considerable attempts to thwart his progress with the case. A few politicians made snide comments and some officials briefed against him but interior ministry documents held at the Central State Archive reveal the way he was treated. As we have seen, the police unit at the Palace of Justice kept a close watch on comings and goings to his office and his movements as he went about his investigation.

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