“I am happy to announce that, after 24 years of detention in the United States, the authorization for the transfer to Italy of Chico Forti. A result that is the result of the diplomatic commitment of this government, of the collaboration with the government of the State of Florida and with the federal government of the United States which I thank. It is a day of joy for Chico, for his family and for all of us. We promised it and we did it. And now we wait in Italy for Chico”. This is the announcement by Giorgia Meloni, in a short video published on social media, which arrived in the Italian evening today from Washington, where the prime minister was for a bilateral meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House Unexpected news, which puts an end to an affair in which various governments have worked hard in an attempt to bring the former entrepreneur from Trentino, accused of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, back to Italy.
“It’s great news for Trento that of the transfer of Chico Forti in Italy. We are happy for him, for his family and in particular for his elderly mother Maria and for his uncle Gianni who never stopped fighting and hoping even when there seemed to be no glimmer of hope”. This was said by the mayor of Trento, Franco Ianeselli. “Chico’s return to Italy is a victory for both of us and for all those who have never forgotten their compatriot in prison on the other side of the ocean – adds the mayor -. In recent years, being away from home has made Chico’s detention even harder. Now a new life begins for him, in his country, close to his loved ones. Finally the hope of many has become reality.”
History
Enrico Forti, known as Chico, was born in Trento in 1959. With the sum won in a Canale 5 program, hosted by Mike Bongiorno, he was able to move to the United States and start a new business. There he gets married and becomes the father of three children. His life, as a young lover of extreme sports and editor-in-chief of Windsurf Italia, took a dramatic turn when he was involved in an obscure murder that threw him into the whirlwind of a judicial storm: it was 1998 when Forti’s arrest for the murder of Dale Pike, son of Anthony Pike, from whom the Italian sailor was purchasing the Pikes Hotel, a well-known nightclub at the time, had shocked his family, his friends and the extreme sports community. But the story continued to cause a stir due to the circumstantial evidence and conflicting testimonies presented during the trial. Although Forti has always proclaimed his innocencethe trial, between witnesses who changed their version, evidence that linked him to the crime scene and a series of circumstances that seemed to incriminate him, led to a heavy sentence: life imprisonment without parole.
The accusatory system
The Senator Luigi Manconipresident of the non-profit organization “A good law”, had explained on the pages of Repubblica that “the iThe accusatory system immediately turns out to be very fragile. In addition to the inconsistency of the motive constituted by the accusation of an alleged fraud (later archived), it should be noted that what accuses him is a statement by Forti himself, subsequently retracted, released during a very long interrogation conducted in the absence of a lawyer defender”. And he added: “If Forti was not the actual perpetrator of the murder, as the prosecuting attorney recognized, we really don’t understand why any attempt was made to connect him in every way to the place of the crime. And that’s not the only inconsistency. They remain sentenced to life in prison without parole and a series of violations of the defendant’s guarantees: from the failure to read his rights (such as the right not to make self-incriminating statements) by the police, to the grossly negligent behavior of the first lawyer and the failure to communicate to the Italian consular authorities what Forti was being accused of, according to the provisions of the Vienna Convention”.
The activity carried out by governments
Chico Forti’s story raises doubts about his real guilt and the question is raisedpublic opinion and the media and we moved following the provisions of the 1983 Strasbourg Convention, which allows a person convicted in a State other than his own to serve the sentence in his own country. There was one critical element: the punishment imposed by the US court it is life imprisonment without parole, a measure not contemplated by our codes. Therefore in Italy Forti could not have served the sentence imposed on him, as he was entitled to take advantage of parole and other benefits. At the end of 2020, was signed by the Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis the transfer of Chico, to Italy, based on the Strasbourg Convention 1983. Obtained from the great commitment of the Farnesina. The repatriation was announced on December 27, 2020. The November 17, 2021 by Minister Cartabia provided the Attorney General, the authority responsible for the final decision on the case subject to Florida’s consent, with the requested clarifications on Italy’s compliance with the 1983 Strasbourg Convention.
Then there was also the governor’s uncertainty to overcome Florida Ron DeSantis who seemed worried about possible hostile reactions from public opinion.
A complex and delicate mediation which ended today with the news of his return to Italy.