Cold Case Forensics returns with Calvi episode
The ITV documentary series Cold Case Forensics, which premiered in 2023, has returned for a second series. The first episode, titled "The Death of God's Banker," focuses on the mysterious death of Roberto Calvi, the Italian banker found hanged under London's Blackfriars Bridge in 1982.
The series follows forensic scientist Dr Angela Gallop and her team as they apply new science and fresh perspectives to unsolved cases. The synopsis for the episode reads: "When a body is found hanging under London's Blackfriars Bridge, the mystery surrounding the death of Roberto Calvi - the man dubbed 'God's Banker' - leads into a murky world of financial deals with The Vatican and The Mafia. Decades on, can Dr Gallop and her team finally prove what happened - and whether it really was a murder?"
Who was Roberto Calvi?
Roberto Calvi joined Banca Commerciale Italiana after World War II before moving to Banco Ambrosiano, then Italy's second-largest bank, in 1947. He later became the bank's president. In 1978, the Bank of Italy found that several billion lire had been exported illegally, leading to criminal investigations. Calvi was tried in 1981, given a four-year suspended sentence, and fined $19.8 million for transferring $27 million out of the country.
After his release on bail, Banco Ambrosiano collapsed in 1982 with debts between $700 million and $1.5 billion. Panicked, Calvi wrote to Pope John Paul II for help from the Vatican Bank, which owned shares in Banco Ambrosiano. The Vatican Bank agreed to pay $224 million to 120 of the bank's creditors.
Disappearance and death
Calvi went missing from his Rome apartment on June 10, 1982, fleeing on a false passport under the name Gian Roberto Calvini to Venice. His body was soon found hanging from scaffolding under Blackfriars Bridge in London. His family refused to accept the suicide ruling, and a second inquest in 1983 delivered an open verdict. His wife, Clara Calvi, hired private investigators and forensic experts, including Angela Gallop.
When his body was exhumed in 1998, evidence mounted against suicide. Injuries to his neck were inconsistent with death by hanging, and Calvi's hands had never touched the bricks in the pockets of his clothes.
Murder ruling and trial
In October 2002, Italian judges concluded that Calvi had been murdered. Five people went on trial in 2005, including Sardinian financier Flavio Carboni, his former girlfriend Manuela Kleinszig, Roman entrepreneur Ernesto Diotallevi, Calvi's former driver and bodyguard Silvano Vittor, and convicted Cosa Nostra treasurer Pippo Calo. All were acquitted in 2007 of any involvement in Calvi's death.
Over 40 years after his death, what happened to Roberto Calvi remains a mystery. Cold Case Forensics airs on ITV1 and ITVX at 9pm on Tuesday, July 28.
