1982
June 24, Rome
Antonio Galluzzo, 24 years old, State Police Officer
Sordi and his “boys” planned new disarmaments of police officers. Initially, the operation was organized with Soderini and Belsito, but “Roscio” (Sordi’s nickname) got into an argument with both a couple of days before. He then gathered his men and asked for help from Cavallini, who agreed to assist.
The target was a pair of uniformed officers who regularly stationed at Via Val di Cogne 22 in the Montesacro area. The NAR didn’t bother to find out why the officers were there or who or what they were guarding. This oversight proved fatal. On the late afternoon of June 24, they set off, meeting in front of the Motta bar on Viale Libia. Two of Sordi’s chosen participants, Vittorio Spadavecchia and Pierfrancesco Vito, arrived on a recently stolen Vespone 125. Shortly after, Sordi and Cavallini arrived in a Golf, a car Roberto Nistri had been using for months. A few days earlier, Zani, who was in Rome at the time, had borrowed the car from Nistri, who had warned him not to use it for any actions as many people knew it was his. Zani reassured him but couldn’t refuse Cavallini’s request later.
The four switched vehicles. Sordi and Cavallini got on the Vespone, while Vito and Spadavecchia took the Golf. Vito and Spadavecchia would provide cover while Sordi and Cavallini disarmed the officers.
Upon reaching the officers, Sordi slowed the Vespone, Cavallini got off and approached the officers while “Roscio” parked the Vespa and joined Cavallini. The operation began. Sordi pulled out a .357 Magnum and ordered the officers not to move. However, the officers unexpectedly ran in different directions. Officer Antonio Galluzzo ran towards Cavallini, who fired six shots, killing him, while Sordi shot at the other officer, Giuseppe Pillon, hitting him in the buttock.
The chaos continued as Cavallini took Galluzzo’s M12. Another officer, Giuseppe Crisci, who had just been replaced by Galluzzo and was at the bar across the street, immediately responded. Crisci fired ten shots, but Cavallini returned fire with Galluzzo’s M12, forcing Crisci to take cover inside.
Another unexpected twist occurred. The station the officers were guarding was the diplomatic headquarters of the PLO in Italy. Palestinian bodyguards from the office windows began firing at the NAR members. Vito aimed the M12 at them and fired a burst while Sordi and Cavallini escaped on the Vespone. Spadavecchia, panicking, took off his pants, ran in his underwear pretending to be a jogger. Vito then got back into the Golf and fled as well. The disarmament attempt ended in tragedy.
The incident had international political implications, with police, magistrates, and journalists assuming the NAR knew the officers were guarding the PLO embassy and attacked due to anti-Palestinian sentiments. There were even speculations that the NAR intended to kill Nemer Hammad, Arafat’s representative in Rome, on behalf of international agents. However, this was not the case, as clarified by the NAR in a phone call to the ANSA Milan office two days later:
On the morning of Antonio Galluzzo’s funeral in Rome, the NAR officially claimed responsibility for the attack, stating: “We did not intend to target the PLO representative. The revenge for our comrade Vale continues.”
The Digos of the Rome Police Headquarters managed to arrest two of the perpetrators within a week. After various legal proceedings, in 1988, Gilberto Cavallini and Walter Sordi were sentenced to life imprisonment, while Vittorio Spadavecchia and Pierfrancesco Vito were sentenced to 14 and 10 years in prison, respectively, for their involvement in the serious attack.