1978

June 06, Udine
Antonio Santoro, 51 years old, chosen major marshal of the custody agents

Antonio Santoro, marshal commander of the custody agents of the Udine prison, is killed in the Friulian capital around 7 a.m. on June 6, 1978. To operate a commando of militants of the Armed Proletarians for Communism (Pac)

The ambell The group was born from the shattering of the militant area of “Rosso”, around the leadership of the Veronese Arrigo Cavallina. The Pacs specialize in the issues of prison and social command. The non-commissioned officer is assaulted – just out of the house to go to work – by a young man who is waiting for him. In order not to arouse suspicion, he fakes love effusions with a girl. The young man catches up with him and hits him in the back with three shots of Glisenti 10.35×20 revolvers. An ancient weapon, released from production at the beginning of the century. The claim flyer is titled ‘Against State Lagers’. It is stated that the prison institution must be destroyed because ‘it has a function of annihilating the prisoner proletariat’.

The convictions

The PACs blame Santoro for violence on detainees and abuses of power. For the latter crime he had been tried and acquitted together with 8 seconds of the Udine prison. Arrigo Cavallina and Cesare Battisti had been detained here. The marshal had only returned to duty the day before because he had been injured in a fight with a prisoner.

The material perpetrators of the Santoro murder, according to the sentence that has become final, are Cesare Battisti, who personally fired the three revolver shots, his fake girlfriend Enrica Migliorati, as well as Claudio Lavazza and Pietro Mutti (the latter repentant) who were left waiting in the escape car, parked a short distance away.

As competitors in the Santoro murder, the sentence that has become final, also condemns Arrigo Cavallina, Sebastiano Masala and Luigi Bergamin. The first two are dissociated and admitting, the third has found refuge in Paris. For the Court, the three organized the crime and handled the claim, printing and distributing the leaflets.