61 Angelo Caloia interviewed in Galli, Finanza bianca, 151; see also Nuzzi, Vaticano S.p.A., 80; and see also “Vatican Bank Director,” Newsday, March 18, 1990, 12. Antonio Chiminello is still at the Vatican. On April 30, 2012, Pope Francis, only six weeks into his Papacy, promoted Chiminello from the consultor of the prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See to become the vice director of the Auditors Office of Vatican City State.
62 Bonifaci opened three accounts: No. 91003 on July 11, 1991, immediately after that No. 001-3-17624, and on August 12, 1992, No. 001-6-02660 –Y. All were to “to allow the application of special rates” so they could earn the IOR’s highest interest rate, and Bodio approved all.
63 Nuzzi, Vaticano S.p.A., 153.
64 David Agazzi, “Gibellini: Sorry for the IOR in the dirt and no more secrets,” L4B Local ANSO, May 30, 2012. Nuzzi, Vaticano S.p.A., 164–66, showing for example the memo to the IOR board of supervisory oversight, February 18, 1994, from “VP.”
65 Agnew, “Vatican Pledges to Help Bribes Inquiry,”10; Nuzzi, Vaticano S.p.A., 84–85, 121.
66 Nuzzi, Vaticano S.p.A., 97–98.
67 Ibid., 99. As suspicious as Caloia was of Cardinal Castillo-Lara, he also did not trust Castillo’s chief financial aide inside APSA, Monsignor Robert Devine. Devine was a successful Canadian private businessman who turned from earning outsized profits to tending for the sick and giving away most of his personal fortune. He became a priest at fifty-two and landed in Rome as Castillo Lara’s investment advisor inside APSA in 1991. As far as Caloia was concerned, Devine might be a talented investor but he was all too willing to second the cardinal’s position that “no disclosure was the best policy.” See generally Alfred LeBlanc and Mark Anderson, “Devine Intervention,” The Financial Post (Toronto), The Magazine, February 1, 1996, 18.
68 Emilio Colombo quoted as part of a “recent unpublished evidence” in Nuzzi, Vaticano S.p.A., 95; Colombo had been Foreign Minister when the tug-of-war played out in the early 1980s over the Marcinkus arrest warrants.
69 Peter Semler, “Berlusconi Decree Shackles Top-Level Corruption Probe,” The Sunday Times (London), July 17, 1994.
70 Author interview with former official in the Secretary of State’s office, November 2013.
71 Ibid. Monsignor Dardozzi felt as if they were all on the deck of the Titanic, talking about how terrible an accident the ship had just had with an iceberg, but nobody was doing anything to save the sinking vessel, Nuzzi, Vaticano S.p.A., 87. The good news for Caloia by the fall of 1993 was that Pietro Ciocci, who had cosigned some of the questionable De Bonis accounts, as well as Monsignor Carmine Recchia, the chief of the IOR archive, and a close De Bonis ally, were also transferred from the bank. One of the IOR’s supervisory lay commission members, former UBS chairman Philippe de Weck, suggested that a fix to all the IOR’s battered image was to simply change its name in order to “clearly break with the past.” That got no backing.
72 Peter Hebblethwaite, “Vatican Bank Scandal Reappears in Venezuela,” National Catholic Reporter, December 24, 1993.
73 Ibid.
74 Galli, Finanza bianca, 163–64.
75 Author interview with a former official in the Secretary of State’s office, November 2013.
76 “Trial Testimony: Scandal Figures Turned to Vatican Bank,” Associated Press, International News, Milan, December 13, 1993; Piero Valsecchi, “Financier Sentenced to 8 Years for Kickback Scandal,” Associated Press Worldstream, International News, Milan, April 28, 1994.
77 See John Tagliabue, “In a Courtroom in Milan, Italian Society is on Trial,” The New York Times, February 6, 1994.
78 “Alleged Money Courier: Funds Carried to Vatican Bank,” Associated Press, International News, Milan, A.M. cycle, January 12, 1994.
79 Bonanno and Constance, Stories of Globalization, 98.
80 Caloia to Sodano, March 1 1994, citied in Willan, The Vatican at War, 324–25. See also John Tagliabue, “In a Courtroom in Milan, Italian Society Is on Trial,” The New York Times, February 6, 1994, A3.
81 Gagliarducci, “I.O.R., is Something Going to Change?”
82 Bonanno and Constance, Stories of Globalization, 97.
83 Willan, The Vatican at War, location 5356 of 6371.
84 Author interview with a former consultant to the IOR, identity withheld at his request, in Rome, September 30, 2013.
85 Maltese, “Scandal, Intrigue and Mystery; The Secrets of the Vatican Bank.”
86 Ibid. See also “Mobster Laundered Cash at Vatican Bank,” Daily Telegraph, July 9, 1998, 6.
87 “Vatican Rejects Claim of Bank Links to Mafia,” The Herald (Glasgow), November 18, 1994, 9.
88 Rosario Spatola quoted in “Witness Accuses Marcinkus of Laundering $6.5m of Mafia Money,” The Irish Times, November 18, 1994, 14.
89 Castillo Lara quoted in “The Vatican Denies That Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara was Involved in Money Laundering for the Mafia,” Daily Record, November 18, 1994, 19; “Cardinal Denies Turncoat’s Account of Money Laundering,” Associated Press Worldstream, International News, Rome, November 17, 1994.
90 Maltese, Pontesilli, and Turco, “Scandal, Intrigue and Mystery; The Secrets of the Vatican Bank.”
91 Magister, “All the Denarii of Peter. Vices and Virtues of the Vatican Bank.”
92 Galli, Finanza bianca, 151.
93 “Vatican in Black for Third Successive Year,” Agence France-Presse, International News, Vatican City, June 19, 1996.
94 Nuzzi, Vaticano S.p.A., 194–95.
95 March 16, 1994, letter from Caloia to Pope John Paul II, reprinted in its entirety in Nuzzi, Vaticano S.p.A., 195–97.
96 Caloia quoted in Antonio Macaluso, “Il risanamento raccontato dal president Angelo Caloia ‘Con questa cura ho guarito lo IOR,’ ” Corriere della Sera, March 27, 1995.
97 Philip Willan, “Papal Aide Tried to Swindle €99m From Inheritance Left by Vatican land baron,” The Times (London), July 22, 2014.
98 The Foundation Gerini was IOR account 90970; see Nuzzi, Vaticano S.p.A., 173–74,188, n. 12. A memo prepared contemporaneously by Dardozzi says: “A lawyer is trying to induce the IOR to use its good offices to get his fee paid by the foundation and is being wound together with a sum for ‘things to accommodate’ with the other heirs (grandchildren) of Gerini. He (the lawyer) insinuates that in Montevideo (in a bank) would be lying a large (but impregnable) amount that would have connection with the characters of the former Banco Ambrosiano and Gerini.”
99 Ibid., 174–75.
100 “ ‘Così mi truffarono’ Salesiani, Bertone sentito in Vaticano «Così mi truffarono»,” Corriere della Sera, April 19, 2013; “Salesian Congregation Faces Bankruptcy After Losing Case,” Rome, Agence France-Press, November 28, 2012; Philip Willan, “Papal Aide Tried to Swindle €99m from Inheritance Left by Vatican Land Baron,” The Times (London), July 22, 2014.
101 Ibid., 175–78, 189.
102 Letter addressed from Caloia to Sodano, February 1, 1996: “Everything is silent on the front of Father Izzi. The ill-will of the religious order, however, confirmed by small episodes, such as the one that led me to try to collect a check for ten million on a BNL account that we knew had been closed for some time.”
103 Caloia to Sodano, February 1, 1996, cited in Nuzzi, Vaticano S.p.A., 176.
104 See generally “Money Laundering: Unequal Fight,” Spotlight Section, No. 243, Intelligence Newsletter, June 23, 1994.
105 See “History of the FATF” at http://www.fatf-gafi.org/pages/aboutus/historyofthefatf/; and “Who Are We” at http://www.fatf-gafi.org.
106 Nuzzi, Vaticano S.p.A., 33.
Chapter 30: Burying the Trail on Nazi Gold
1 Paddy Agnew, “Trial of Sicilian Archbishop on Fraud and Corruption Charges Adjourned,” The Irish Times, February 27, 1997, 10.
2 “The central and key point in the IOR is the conservation and management of money and resources entrusted to the institution, in order to enhance and fund religious entitie
s, according to the need of ecclesiastical bodies, religious orders, dioceses and missions, all the while excluding speculation and unethical financial transactions.” Angelo Caloia interviewed in Galli, Finanza bianca, 150.
3 Celestine Bohlen, “Rome Journal; For Vatican’s Lay Staff, Tighter Rules to Live By,” The New York Times, July 25, 1995, A4.
4 “Italians Hold Ex-CIA Agent in Global Crime Probe: Mafia, Yugoslav Factions Linked to Network Trading in Illegal Arms and Drugs,” The Vancouver Sun, December 4, 1995.
5 Andrew Gumbel, “Death, Drugs and Diamonds in Tale of Global Conspiracy; A Web of Intrigue Unearthed in Italy,” The Independent (London), June 3, 1996, 10.
6 “American Arrested in Italian Money-Laundering Investigation,” Associated Press, International News, Naples, Italy, A.M. cycle, December 2, 1995; John Hooper, “Odd Deals in High Places,” The Observer, June 2, 1996, 7.
7 Hooper, “Odd Deals in High Places,” 7.
8 “Italian Police Crack Down on International Mafia,” Agence France-Presse, International News, Rome, June 2, 1996.
9 “Italians Hold Ex-CIA Agent in Global Crime Probe,” The Vancouver Sun, A7.
10 “Cardinal Michele Giordano of Italy Dies at 80,” The New York Times, December 4, 2010.
11 John L. Allen, Jr., “A Hint of Accountability in a New Vatican Financial Scandal,” National Catholic Reporter, June 21, 2010; see also “Prosecutors Pursue Inquiry into Cardinal Despite Church-State Fears,” Birmingham Post, August 25, 1998, 9; Philip Willan, “Loan-Sharking Case Fails Against Naples Cardinal,” The Guardian, December 23, 2000, 12. Giordano retired in 2006. “Retired Naples cardinal Giordano dies at 80,” The Seattle Times, December 3, 2010.
12 “Investigations: A Status Report on the Volcker Commission,” PBS Frontline, June 1997; See also John Authers and Richard Wolffe, The Victim’s Fortune, 27–29.
13 See Greg Bradsher, “Searching for Records Relating to Nazi Gold Part II,” The Record, May 1998; Rickman, Conquest and Redemption, 210-11.
14 “Echoes Of The Nazis’ Crimes Still Resound / Swiss Banks List Old Accounts, Invite Heirs To Come Forward,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 23, 1997, A01.
15 Switzerland’s Economic Minister, Jean-Pascal Delamuraz, had to formally apologize after he called the disclosures “blackmail.” Carlo Jagmetti, the Swiss ambassador to the U.S., resigned after a document leaked to the press in which he called the charges a “war” by Holocaust groups.
16 David E. Sanger, “McCall and State Dept. Clash on Sanctions Against Swiss Over Gold,” The New York Times, July 23, 1998; Authers and Wolffe, The Victim’s Fortune, 63-69; 89-92.
17 Elan Steinberg of the World Jewish Congress considered the Holocaust asset litigation as “plaintiff’s diplomacy.” Author interview with Elan Steinberg, April 2, 2006. Friedman v. Union Bank of Switzerland, Eastern District of New York, 1996 and Weisshaus v. Union Bank of Switzerland, Eastern District of New York, 1997, together are the core cases for the so-called Swiss Bankers litigation. Michael Bazyler, Holocaust Justice: The Battle for Restitution in America’s Courts (New York: New York University Press, 2003), Kindle Edition, 325 of 9290; see also Itmar Levin, “Holocaust Survivor Files $20 Bln Class Action Against 100 Swiss Banks,” Globes (Israel), October 7, 1996.
18 Michael Bazyler, Holocaust Justice, 75 of 9290; see in particular Adolf Stern, et al., v. Assicurazioni Generali, California, District Court, SF, 1996.
19 David Briscoe, “U.S. Memo Says Vatican Held Nazi Loot,” Associated Press, Washington, A.M. cycle, July 21, 1997; see also “Papers Link Vatican to Illegal Deals with Nazis Swiss Bankers Used as Conduit, U.S. Intelligence Documents Say,” The Toronto Star, August 4, 1997, A3.
20 Memo from Emerson Bigelow to Harold Glasser, Director of Monetary Research, U.S. Treasury Department, October 21, 1946, RG 226, Entry 183, Box 29, File #6495, NARA.
21 “The Eizenstat Report and Related Issues Concerning United States and Allied Efforts to Restore Gold and Other Assets Looted by Nazis During World War II,” Hearing Before the Committee on Banking and Financial Services, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fifth Congress, First Session, June 25, 1997, Volume 4 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office), 1997.
22 Slobodan Lekic, “Clinton: U.S. Pursuing Facts on Nazi Gold,” Associated Press, International News, Washington, July 22, 1997.
23 Transcript, “Rabbi Marvin Heir Discusses the Latest Developments in the Nazi Gold/Holocaust Victims/Swiss Banks Investigation,” CNN Early Edition with Martin Savidge, July 23, 1997; Bruce Johnston, “Vatican Tainted by Holocaust Gold Memo,” Calgary Herald, July 27, 1997, D1.
24 See, for example, “U.S. Memo Says Vatican Held Nazi Puppet’s Cash,” San Francisco Examiner, July 22, 1997.
25 Lekic, “Clinton: U.S. Pursuing Facts on Nazi Gold.”
26 “Vatican Denies Report It Stored Fascists’ Gold,” San Jose Mercury News, July 23, 1997, 16A; Bruce Johnston and Tim Butcher, “Vatican Denies Receiving $184 Million Stolen from Jews During War,” reprinted from The Telegraph in The Vancouver Sun, July 23, 1997, A7; see also Lekic, “Clinton: U.S. Pursuing Facts on Nazi Gold”; and “U.S. Memo Says Vatican Held Nazi Puppet’s Cash,” San Francisco Examiner.
27 Bronfman quoted in Brian Milner, “Settling Holocaust Accounts: Bronfman Turns Sights from Swiss to Vatican in Bid to Open Last Locked Doors of Nazi Era,” The Globe and Mail (Canada), July 26, 1997, A1.
28 “Survivors Sue Insurance Firms for Failing to Honor Policies,” Jewish Telegraph Agency, June 5, 1997. Bazyler, Holocaust Justice, location 2489 of 9290; Authers and Wolffe, The Victim’s Fortune, 119–34; see generally “Life Insurance and the Holocaust,” The Insurance Forum, Special Holocaust Issue, 25, no. 9 (September 1998): 81100; Becker to Bernstein, November 27, 1946, RG 260, OMGUS, Finance, Box 60, 17/60/10, NARA.
29 The documents were Allied intercepts of Swiss bank wire transfers in 1944 and 1945 and they classify the Vatican transactions as “objectionable.” One confidential document, dated January 27, 1945, lists a November 12, 1944, transaction in which Credit Suisse sent this message to the IOR: “We credit you 6,407.50 francs on order of the Reichsbank Berlin.” That transaction was listed among violations by the Swiss of the Allied war code. According to a second document, labeled “Secret Intelligence Material Confidential,” in April 1945 the IOR instructed the Union Bank of Switzerland to pay 100,000 Swiss francs and asked the Swiss central bank to pay 200,000 francs to the Bank Suisse Italienne of Lugano, which the Allies had blacklisted in June 1940. A third document, also in 1945, reported that the IOR asked a Portuguese bank to “forward 2,500 large dollar notes in a sealed packet to the Vatican through the medium of the papal nuncio in Lisbon.” See generally “Papers Link Vatican to Illegal Deals with Nazis Swiss Bankers Used as Conduit, U.S. Intelligence Documents Say,” The Toronto Star A3; “News in Brief: Vatican Bank ‘Dealt with Nazis,’ ” The Guardian, August 4, 1997.
30 Edith M. Lederer, “Nazi Victims Should Be Given dlrs 63 Million in Looted Gold,” Associated Press, International News, London, March 21, 1997.
31 Hoeckman quoted in “Vatican Won’t Open Archives: Pope Remains Silent on Accusations of Wartime Crimes,” The Daily Telegraph, September 12, 1997, A8.
32 Gordon Legge, “Auschwitz Survivor to Protest at Vatican,” Calgary Herald, September 18, 1997, B7.
33 Letter from Shimon Samuels, quoted in Bruce Johnston, “Pope’s Holocaust Speech Falls Short, Jewish Leaders Say,” Daily Telegraph, November 2, 1997, C10.
34 Bruno Bartoloni, “Vatican Resists Pressure to Open Archives on Relations with Nazis,” Agence France-Presse, International News, Vatican City, November 30, 1997.
35 “Vatican Will Attend Nazi Gold Conference in London,” Agence France-Presse, International News, December 1, 1997.
36 Maureen Johnson, “Vatican Has Gold Wrested from Gypsy Victims, Delegate Claims with BC- Nazi Gold Conference,” Associated Press, International News, London, December 3, 1997.
37 The other attention-grabbin
g moment was when Swiss investigators announced they had determined that the amount of gold transferred through the Reichsbank during World War II was $120.05 billion, far more than previously estimated. And at least $1.3 billion came from victims of the Nazis.
38 Henry Meyer, “Nazi Gold Conference Fails to Generate International Solidarity,” Agence France-Presse, International News, London, December 4, 1997.
39 Christopher Lockwood, “Vatican Comes Under Heavy Flak, World: ‘Archives Hold Key to Nazi Gold,’ ” Hamilton Spectator (Ontario), December 5, 1997, C4.
40 Ray Moseley, “41 States Unite on Probes of Nazi Era Their Aim: Justice for Surviving Victims by Turn of Century,” The Toronto Star, December 5, 1997, A20.
41 Christopher Henning, “Vatican Remains Mute on Looting—US Calls for Disclosure of Documents,” The Age (Melbourne), December 6, 1997, 20.
42 Ibid.
43 Lockwood, “Vatican Comes Under Heavy Flak, World: ‘Archives Hold Key to Nazi Gold.’ ”
44 Author interview with Elan Steinberg, April 2, 2006.
45 Navarro-Valls quoted in “Vatican Denies Handling Nazi Gold from Croatia,” Agence France-Presse, International News, Vatican City, December 9, 1997; Frances D’Emilio, “Vatican Insists Its Archives Don’t Back Up Croatia Link,” Vatican City, Associated Press, December 9, 1997.
46 D’Emilio, “Vatican Insists Its Archives Don’t Back Up Croatia Link,” Associated Press.
47 “Looted Gold Kept at Bank in New York Canada, IMF Owned Bars Marked with Swastikas,” The Toronto Star, December 18, 1997, A17; John Sweeney, “Steal of the Century: Wall of Silence Guards Gold,” The Observer, December 7, 1997, 12.
48 “British Legislators to Study Vatican WWII Archives,” Associated Press, International News, London, February 9, 1998. “We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah,” Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, Presentation by Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, Vatican City, March 12, 1998, online at http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_16031998_shoah_en.html.
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