The Orlandi Case: A “Blonde Woman” and New Twists in a 40-Year Mystery
Palazzo San Macuto was the setting today for a renewed focus on the infamous “blonde woman, striking and athletic,” as she became known through the colorful account of an intelligence operative. The central question: can the mystery of the green tundra BMW, allegedly used in connection with Emanuela Orlandi’s disappearance on June 22, 1983, finally be clarified after 40 years? The parliamentary commission of inquiry sought answers – while awaiting the rescheduled interrogation of confessed perpetrator Marco Accetti – by summoning Dolores Brugnoli, whose identity had remained concealed until now. The hearing, attended by 40 deputies and senators, began at 1:30 PM on February 5th and yielded no major revelations, save for a curious detail: the mention of a “second” BMW, but of a different color.
The Hearing
Brugnoli began by recounting the episode in which she was contacted by Giulio Gangi, an agent of the Sisde (Italy’s domestic intelligence agency), who knew the Orlandi family through shared vacation spots (Torano). Gangi was attempting to trace the BMW taken to a repair shop, with a broken window, similar to the one reportedly seen on Corso Rinascimento on the afternoon of the 15-year-old’s disappearance. “During that period, I lived with my family in a residence,” Brugnoli stated. “Gangi called me through reception. He had a pistol and told me I had to go to the police station without explanation.” She added that she went to the police with her husband and that “the commissioner” at the time was “a friend of my husband.” “I reported what I had been told, and the commissioner already knew everything,” she recalled, adding that she was surprised to learn that “they had kept our phone under surveillance for a year, for what reason I don’t know.”
“They Lent Me a BMW, But It Was Yellow”
Dolores Brugnoli further stated that at the time, she owned a Golf GT and had “never owned a BMW,” but that “a family friend – who died years ago – lent me a yellow BMW because my car wouldn’t start that day and I had to pick up my children from school.” The commission’s questions focused on the BMW and the reconstruction provided by Gangi. Commission President Senator Andrea De Priamo noted that the former Sisde agent had stated he approached Brugnoli under the pretense of asking about the BMW, and that when she refused, he told her she would be summoned by the police. “None of this happened to me,” Brugnoli responded, also clarifying that she “never went to a repair shop” with the borrowed car.
Reconstructions Compared
The BMW became a central element of the Orlandi mystery. A traffic warden, Alfredo Sambuco, and a police officer, Bruno Bosco, stationed in front of the Senate on June 22, 1983, reported seeing a man aged 30-35 (later linked to mob boss “Renatino” De Pedis and Marco Accetti) standing near the car, having stopped Emanuela, who was carrying a bag similar to those used by Avon cosmetics representatives. This sparked a complex investigation, which would assign a dominant role to “false beards” – undercover operatives – in the case.
The Repair Shop in the Nomentana Area
Giulio Gangi was a key figure in the search for the BMW. He obtained a list of the few dozen cars of that color registered in Rome and located a suspect BMW at a repair shop on the Nomentana ring road, with a shattered passenger-side window. The question arose: had Emanuela, desperate to escape, broken the glass?
The Statement: “Blonde, Athletic”
According to a signed statement within the investigation into the involvement of the Banda della Magliana (a notorious Roman criminal organization), Gangi described the woman who brought the car to the repair shop: “It was June-July 1983, it was hot. The woman presented herself at the reception, in the presence of the two doormen of the Mallia, wearing a swimsuit and sandals, size 37-38. She wasn’t very tall, blonde and striking, with long hair to her shoulders, athletic build, muscular legs, spoke without any regional accent, closer to her 20s than 30s…”
“I Displeased Some Important People…”
The woman’s reaction to Gangi’s questioning, and the subsequent reprimand he received from his superiors at the Sisde, fueled speculation that she was connected to powerful figures within the intelligence services or law enforcement. Gangi repeatedly stated he believed someone high up was involved in the disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi, suggesting a possible link to an international prostitution ring, as detailed in a report by Tommaso Nelli for the website Spazio 70.
The Promise: “She’s About to Return”
The promise of Emanuela’s imminent return, delivered by Gangi to her parents in September 1983, proved false. However, the information he claimed to have received from within the intelligence community suggested that someone knew where she was being held. Pietro Orlandi recounted this in his 2011 book, My Sister Emanuela. “Giulio said he was sure, that everything was resolved. He specified that the Sisde men would bring her back and added that my sister was very distressed. He advised us to take her to a safe place, away from journalists, to let her rest. My mother believed him, she was overjoyed, ready to embrace her again.”
From the “Blonde Woman” to the Phoenix Track
This brings us to the intersection of the “blonde woman” lead and the alleged network of parties and the delivery of girls to high-profile individuals, a theory repeatedly raised over the past 42 years. The period is still late summer-autumn 1983. Gangi reappears, along with the intelligence services. On September 24th, a phone call to a newspaper announced the delivery of a communication signed by a new entity: Phoenix, the Sisde operating undercover. This was a classic intelligence operation: the services, three months after the failed return of Emanuela, played a high-stakes card to intimidate the kidnappers and force a clandestine negotiation, involving a “phone man” known as “Americano” (later identified as Marco Accetti), mysterious messages from Boston, and the seemingly delusional variant of the “Turkesh” group, who nonetheless possessed authentic information about the girls.
Threats to P and M, the First Two Phone Operators
The four Phoenix messages, largely overlooked by the parliamentary commission of inquiry, appear to reveal information already known to investigators and key passages, such as the presence of a “repentant” individual. The first message, left in a church on Viale Regina Margherita on September 24, 1983, identified P and M, the alleged abductors, thanks to the unwitting assistance of a “friendly person” (possibly Raffaella Monzi or Laura Casagrande?). The message aimed to pressure the kidnappers to respond to Ercole Orlandi, who had requested proof of life or information about his daughter’s burial place on September 6th.
The Proof: “We Know Code 158”
The second message, delivered on September 27, 1983, demonstrated the Sisde’s knowledge of the case by referencing “Code 158,” a secret code previously requested by the kidnappers to communicate directly with the Vatican, specifically Cardinal Agostino Casaroli. This served to establish the agency’s credibility and signal their ability to launch a raid.
The Reference to Pedophilia
The most disturbing coded reference appeared in the third message, on October 8, 1983: “international trafficking in dolls,” alluding to the possibility of pedophilia as a motive, potentially linking the case to the Boston scandal involving hundreds of clergy members. The message also mentioned the “abductors” and “coordinators,” possibly the masterminds behind the plot.
The Final Message
On November 13, 1983, Phoenix-Sisde delivered a devastating blow, announcing the “death” of Emanuela Orlandi. Was this true, or a ploy to flush out the criminals?
The Hunt for the Motive (and the Cover-Up)
These communications, taken together, suggest a possible motive for the abduction, followed by a cover-up involving phone calls and other messages designed to divert attention towards anti-communist politics, financial scandals within the Vatican, and the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II. New clues and anxieties have emerged. Perhaps further investigation into the intelligence operatives active at the time could reveal more. (fperonaci@rcs.it)
