1981
January 6, Rome
Luca Perucci, 18 years old, student
Background
The murder of Perucci occurred in a social context in the early 1980s when the radical right-wing circles experienced a series of acts of vengeance and settling of scores against informers, traitors, and alleged opportunists. Among the protagonists of this campaign of annihilation were the Fioravanti brothers’ Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari (NAR). Near the end of their history and decimated by arrests, they largely abandoned the strategy of armed spontaneous struggle against the state to focus almost exclusively on personal revenge.
“According to the NAR’s way of thinking, enemies should be respected, even if they are sentenced to death for what they do. Traitors, on the other hand, cannot be respected and therefore must be annihilated.”
(Francesca Mambro from “A mano armata” by Giovanni Bianconi)
One of the targets chosen by the terrorist group was Luca Perucci, a university student and member of Terza Posizione. He had recently been interviewed by Roman and Bolognese magistrates as part of the investigations into the Bologna station massacre and the murder of judge Mario Amato. Consequently, the NAR believed he had provided useful information to the investigators.
The Murder
On January 6, 1981, around 6:30 PM, Perucci left his Roman home on Via Lucrino in the Trieste district with his mother and two uncles to visit relatives for the holiday. His friend Pasquale Belsito was waiting for him. With an excuse, Belsito approached and walked away with him, chatting. As soon as they turned the corner, Belsito pulled out a .38 Special pistol and shot him in the forehead before fleeing. The NAR claimed responsibility, saying, “We have forever silenced the informer Luca Perucci.” This claim was reiterated nine months later, along with the murder of Francesco Straullu: “On January 6, we executed the infamous informer Luca Perucci, who had enabled the Bolognese judiciary to attack revolutionary formations.” The trials confirmed that the act was organized and committed by NAR members as part of the “annihilation campaign” against those who, by offering their cooperation with the police, chose to sever ties with the neo-fascist subversive environment.