Former head of masonic lodge linked to some of Italy’s biggest scandals
FLORENCE, Italy, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The former head of an outlawed masonic lodge linked to some of Italy’s biggest scandals has sparked an outcry by announcing that he will take part in a television talk show to give his version of events.
Licio Gelli, the 89-year old former grandmaster of the shadowy Propaganda 2 (P2) group, will be the main guest in “Venerabile Italia” (Venerable Italy), a programme on Italy’s history from fascism to the 1980s.
The P2 was founded in 1969 and used to be the country’s most powerful secret organisation with prominent politicians, business leaders and military officers as members.
It has been at the centre of a number of investigations into allegations that it conspired with right-wing extremists and the Mafia to destabilise governments through bombings and violence, often blamed on extreme leftists.
Gelli was sentenced to 12 years in jail for fraud in connection with the 1982 collapse of Banco Ambrosiano, whose boss Roberto Calvi — known as “God’s banker” for his ties to the Vatican — was found hanged under Blackfriars Bridge in London.