Operation Gladio: The Unholy Alliance Between the Vatican, the Cia, and the Mafia

by Paul L. Williams

Alarms were sounded. The CIA dispatched Carlo Rocchi, one of its Italian agents, to monitor Sindona’s behavior within the federal prison. Rocchi gained the Mafia financier’s trust by presenting him with an affidavit from the Department of Justice. The affidavit said that Rocchi was a “reliable person” and that President Reagan was prepared to grant Sindona a “full pardon.”30 Sindona could not believe that such an affidavit from a “reliable” government official would be bogus. He took the bait and refrained from making further statements until September 24, 1984, when the US Justice Department issued the order for his extradition to Milan. Upon hearing the news, Sindona went ballistic. He said, “If I finally get there, if no one does me in first—and I’ve already heard talk of giving me a poisoned cup of coffee—I’ll make my trial into a real circus. I’ll tell everything.”