The Falange Armata (English: ''Armed Phalanx'') was an alleged
terrorist organisation that was active in
Italy the early 1990s. While the name has been used to claim several murders and bombing attacks its membership or existence are disputed.
History
The first claim under the name Falange Armata was made with a call to the
ANSA switchboard in
Bologna on 27 October 1990, concerning the murder of Umberto Mormile, an educator at Opera prison who had been killed on 11 April 1990.
[Falange armata, mix d'eversione e criminalità]
archiviostorico.corriere.it
Over the following years anonymous calls supposedly made on behalf of the organisation claimed a wide number of attacks later attributed to the
White Uno Gang
The White Uno Gang () was an Italians, Italian Organized crime, criminal organization operating mainly in Emilia-Romagna and Marche.
The name of the gang was coined by the press in 1991 as the gang frequently used a white Fiat Uno car, being pa ...
,
Cosa Nostra,
'Ndrangheta
The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a prominent Italian Mafia-type organized crime syndicate and secret society, criminal society based in the peninsular and mountainous region of Calabria and dating back to the late 18th century. It is considered one of ...
,
, and
Sacra Corona Unita
Sacra Corona Unita (, ; acronym: SCU) also known as fourth mafia is a Mafia-type criminal organization and criminal society from the Apulia region in Southern Italy, and it is especially active in the areas of Brindisi, Lecce, and Taranto.
Ori ...
, including the
Pilastro killings, the murders of
Antonino Scopelliti,
Salvo Lima,
Giuliano Guazzelli, the
Capaci and
Via D'Amelio bombings, the derailment of the Lecce-Zurich train near
Surbo, and other killings or bombings. In addition, the name was used to sign death threats against
Presidents Francesco Cossiga
Francesco Maurizio Cossiga (; sc, Frantziscu Maurìtziu Còssiga, ; 1928 – 2010)
.
and
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, Interior Minister
Nicola Mancino
Nicola Mancino (born 15 October 1931) is an Italian politician. He was President of the Senate of the Republic from 1996 to 2001. He was also president of Campania's regional parliament from 1965 to 1971, governor of Campania from 1971 to 1972 ...
, and high-profile prosecutors, journalists, businesspeople and politicians of various parties.
The wide scope of these claims (about 1,200 between 1990 and 1995) led investigators to suggest that the group was fictitious and that it was used to mislead inquiries into organised crime, or possibly that the calls were the work of a compulsive liar.
[Falange Armata: ‘Riina chiudi la bocca’. Dopo 20 anni ricompare la sigla del terrore]
ilfattoquotidiano.it
After thirteen years of inactivity Falange Armata resurfaced in February 2014 in a threatening letter sent to jailed Mafia boss
Totò Riina.
Theories over the organisation's nature and origins
In 2015, while called as a witness in the trial on the alleged
State-Mafia Pact,
Francesco Paolo Fulci, diplomat and former chairperson of the
Executive Committee on Intelligence and Security Services, claimed that phone calls related to Falange Armata were found to originate from the peripheral offices of
SISMI, Italy's military intelligence agency at the time:
Some Mafia ''
pentiti'', such as Filippo Malvagna,
Maurizio Avola
and Salvatore Grigoli have testified that the name Falange Armata was used to claim every terrorist-type action carried out by Cosa Nostra, originally on suggestion from military intelligence officials. However, higher-profile mafiosi such as
Giovanni Brusca and
Antonino Giuffrè have denied any knowledge of this practice.
Judge Piergiorgio Morosini in 2013 suggested that the attacks claimed by Falange Armata were part of a subversive strategy pursued by the Mafia with the support from far-right groups and officials within the intelligence services,
[{{cite web, url=https://robertogalullo.blog.ilsole24ore.com/2014/02/26/falange-armata-si-rifa-viva-con-la-lettera-a-toto-riina-ma-la-sua-presenza-borderline-e-vecchia-le-i/ , title=Falange Armata si rifà viva con la lettera a Totò Riina ma la sua presenza borderline è vecchia: le indagini dei pm di Palermo , last=Galullo , first=Roberto , publisher=Il Sole 24 Ore , date=26 February 2014 , access-date=6 December 2021] a common line of inquiry.
See also
*
Armed, far-right organizations in Italy
References
Defunct organisations designated as terrorist in Italy
1990s in Italy
2014 in Italy
Neo-fascist terrorism