A Florentine Death (37 page)

From October 1995 to April 2003, I was the head of the
Squadra Mobile
in Florence. I conducted several major investigations, including those into the Chinese Mafia, money laundering, and the series of double murders attributed to the so-called 'Monster of Florence'.

With regard to this latter case, my investigations led me to reject the theories of my predecessors (including American investigators who had looked at the case). I was able to demonstrate that the murders were not the work of a lone killer, but of a group of killers. The sentences passed on several of the culprits were confirmed by the court of appeal in September 2000.

Since April 2003 I have headed a special group of investigators trying to track down the person responsible for instigating the murders and to cast light on the death of Dr Francesco Narducci of Perugia, which is believed to be linked to the case. The preliminary investigations into the 'instigator' have now been concluded, and a judge's decision is currently being awaited on the possibility of a trial being held. In the meantime, I am still collaborating with the Prosecutor's Department in Perugia.

After writing two Chief Superintendent Michele Ferrara books, with another at planning stage, I completed
The Monster: Anatomy
of
an Investigation,
a non-fiction book about the Monster of Florence case, in order to leave a documentary record of an affair which is unique, not only in Italy, but in the world.

Although
A Florentine Death
is a work of imagination, some of it is inspired by real events. The inhabitants of Ali Superiore will recognise the episode where the Velazquez painting is handed back to them, because it really happened, although the circumstances in which the painting was found were quite different. There was an edition of the Italian TV show
Porta a Porta
which dealt with the Monster of Florence case and in which I myself participated. The police siege of a house in Reggio Calabria in which a meeting of the heads of the Calabrian Mafia was taking place is also a real event. Everything else is fictitious, and any reference to real people and events is purely coincidental. Michele Ferrara is not me. Of course he and I are alike, in that we have the same profession, but he is the Giuttari I might like to be, although I almost never succeed. I think we all have idealised versions of ourselves, to which we aspire, although most of the time we fall short of these ideals.

Michele Giuttari, November
2006