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Pietro Calogero, Magistrate of Italy’s 'Years of Lead,' Dies at 86

His death revives debate over the 'Calogero theorem' that sought to link Autonomia Operaia to the Red Brigades.

Overview

  • Pietro Calogero died Monday in a Padua hospital at 86, on the eve of the 47th anniversary of the 1979 '7 April' arrests.
  • As Padua prosecutor, he ordered sweeping arrests on April 7, 1979 across Padua, Milan and Rome that targeted leaders of Autonomia Operaia, including Toni Negri, Emilio Vesce and Oreste Scalzone.
  • His accusatory framework, known as the 'Calogero theorem,' argued Autonomia ideologues directed the Red Brigades, a stance criticized by observers including Amnesty International and followed by sentences ranging from 4 to 12 years.
  • Across a long career in Veneto, he served as Padua’s chief prosecutor and later attorney general at the Venice Court of Appeal, and earlier he helped pursue a neofascist track in the 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing case.
  • Regional officials and Padua’s mayor issued condolences, and the funeral is scheduled for Friday at 3:30 p.m. at the Church of San Fidenzio in Sarmeola di Rubano.