ARTICLE FROM TIME MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 28, 1983. WORLD. TERRORISM. FAT MAN, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: STARGATE
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96-00788R000100270003-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 17, 1998
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: February 28, 1983
• Content Type: NSPR

LI
Approved For Release 2000/08/07: CIA-FW&Iff88R000100270003-0
Fat Man, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
How the U.S. and Italy got the Mafia to-help find General Dozier
O n the evening of Dec. 17, 1981, Red
Brigades terrorists kidnaped Briga-
dier General James Dozier, 50, the high-
est-ranking U.S. officer in NATO's south-
ern Europe command, from his home in
Verona. The abduction triggered the larg-
est man hunt in Italy's history. Forty-two
days later, Italian commandos stormed an
apartment in. Padua and freed the
American general. It was a stunning
piece of police work that won praise
from around the world; it also marked
the beginning of the end for the noto-
rious terrorist group. But the full story
of how the authorities found Dozier
has never been revealed. American
and Italian intelligence agencies,
TIME has learned, turned to the Mafia
for help in locating the general.
What occurred was a remarkable
tale of triumphs and bungles, of
Brooklyn consiglieri and Milan Mafi-
osi, of chases along New York City's
Fifth Avenue and gun-toting crimi-
nals tailing intelligence agents along
Italian autostrade. So secret was the
sador to Italy Maxwell Rabb was
aware of it until TIME Correspondent
Jonathan Beaty, accompanied by
Rome Correspondent Barry Kalb,
questioned the diplomat two weeks
ago. Beaty's report: -
I t took only two days for top offi-
cials at SISMI, the Italian intelli-
gence agency, to decide that it might
be useful to turn to the Mafia for help
in finding General Dozier. Although
the Mafia had long detested the Red
Brigades, SISMI knew that there
would be a public outcry if it was ever
discovered that an, Italian govern-
ment agency had contacted the Ma-
U.S. in-July 1981 when Italian authorities
suddenly seized his passport, a signal that
they were preparing to indict him. The
Italian military attachd told Lombino
that he could make a lot of money if he
would help with the Dozier case. On Dec.
22, only five days after Dozier had been
abducted, Lombino-phoned the Fat Man
cial had to concoct a new identity for him.
With the Fat Man's aid, Lombino -ac-
quired the Social Security number of an
unwitting high school driver's education
instructor from Brooklyn, while a cooper-
ative priest in Manhattan provided him
with false baptism records.
On Dec. 27, dressed in dark glasses,
Levi's and running shoes, Lombino head-
ed for the U.S. passport office on Manhat-
tan's Fifth Avenue. Though he had been
assured that there would be no problems,
Lombino, now joined by Campione, ner-
vously showed up an hour early to check
out the area. They quickly spotted too
many men wearing trench coats and
reading newspapers. Sensing a trap,
Lombino ran down the up escalators
to the street and jumped into a cab be-
fore he could be captured. The star-
tled Campione simply disappeared
into the crowd.
The pursuers turned out to be FBI
agents who had learned that an Ital-
ian Mafia associate living illegally in
New York was -trying to obtain a
false passport to return to Italy.
Within hours, FBI agents were grill-
ing both the Fat Man and Campione,
demanding to know why the Italians
were helping a fugitive Mafioso
like Lombino. A panicky Campione
called Sportelli in Rome to find out if
he should tell the FBI the truth. The
SISMI foreign-intelligence boss imme-
diately called "M," the CIA agent in
Rome who was serving as the agen-
cy's liaison in the Dozier case and ex-
plained the entire ploy. -
The CIA was intrigued. It quickly
called the FBI off the case and began
negotiating directly with Lombino by
phone.. Lombino, however, no longer
trusted SISMI. - He insisted on U.S.
protection as well as a pledge that he
could legally return to the U.S. if he
went to Italy and saw Restelli. The
Justice Department approved the
residency deal, and as a result, in
early January 1982 Lombino made
the first of two trips to the Washing-
ton, D.C? area to meet with CIA
agents.
fia directly. Consequently, a more The jubilant and still unshaven victim after his rescue
subtle plan was devised. An ap- Triumphs and bunglesfrom-Brooklyn to Milan.
proach would be made to Mafiosi in
the U.S., who would be asked to get in
touch with their counterparts in Italy.
Marcello Campione, then military at-
tache to the Italian mission at the United
Nations, began making inquiries in New
York Mafia circles. Working under a code
name, "the Tailor," Campione was led to
an influential Mafia consigliere in Brook-
lyn who makes his living by helping Ital-
ians move to the U.S. "The Fat Man," as
the arranger is known in the underworld,
agreed to put Campione in touch with a
fugitive Mafioso from Italy who was hid-
ing out in New York.
That contact turned out to be Domi-
nic Lombino, 40, a lawyer from Milan
whose clients had included Franchino
R.estelli, the northern Italian city's lead-
ing Mafioso. Jailed briefly in 1978 for his
Mafia associations, Lombino Red to the
and then Armando Sportelli, chief of
SISMI's foreign operations in Rome. The
word: Dozier was being held somewhere
inside the triangle formed by the cities of
Verona, Padua and Bologna. The next
day, after more phone conversations with
associates in Italy, Lombino was able to
tell SISMI that the American general was
definitely in Padua. Lombino did not
know the precise location, but suggested
that his old client Restelli, then impris-
oned in Milan's notorious San Vitlore
prison for Mafia activities, might be able
to come up with the address.
Attache Campione quickly agreed.
Over the Christmas holiday he developed
a plan to sneak Lombino out of the U.S.
and into Italy so that Lombino could talk
with Restelli. Since Lombino was still a
fugitive with no passport, the Italian offi-
For unknown reasons, Lombino's trip
to Italy was delayed. According to Italian
intelligence sources, the problem was a ri-
valry between Campione and General
Ninetto Lugaresi, the head of SISMI.
Finally, on Jan. 23, Lombino boarded an
Alitalia flight from New York's Kennedy
Airport to Rome. Accompanied by Cam-
pione and wearing a wig as a disguise, he
carried CIA-supplied. papers in the name
of Andrew Dimanso, the alias he was sup-
posed to use in Italy. When the pair land-
ed in Rome, they were met by the CIA's
"M" and a cadre of American and Italian
intelligence agents. Lombino was hustled
away to a hotel a block from the U.S. em-
bassy. Twice during the next day, he met
with Franca Musi, a Red Brigades courier
who had been captured two weeks earlier'
in Rome. The Italians thought that Musi,
TIME,
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 of SISMI, has been dis-
; patched to the Italian em-
bassy in far-off Khartoum,
the capital of Sudan. Fran-
chino Restelli has been
transferred from his Milan
prison to a more hospitable
jail in Parma. Dominic
Lombino is back in New
York, reportedly waiting
for the Justice Department
to approve the residency
papers requested by the
CIA. In Italy, trouble is
brewing within SISMI about
the sum of money, which
turned out to be $500,000,
that was promised to Lom-
bino but that has apparent-
ly disappeared. And, oh
yes, the Fat Man is still
much of his time fending Hearing the news, the CIA agent turned to Lombino and thanked him p ofusely. rangemena ts for- friends. arm
tions, might give valuable information
to Lombino, but she claimed only to
know that Dozier was being held some-
where in Padua.
It was now time to see Restelli. On the
night of Jan. 26, Lombino climbed into a
white Alfa Romeo with four : Italian po-
licemen and headed for Milan. Behind
them was. a second car carrying Cam-
pion and other SISMI officers. It was only
part. of the odd caravan that raced along
the highway that night. The Italians were
tailed by at least two Mercedes sedans
filled with Mafia soldiers armed with ma-
chine guns. Their instructions: protect
Lombino. When the improbable parade
of motorists reached Milan, a CIA agent
joined up as well.
. The lawyer and SISMI agents then met
with Restelli, who was brought out of jail
especially for the conference, which took
place in a police office in the Palace of
Justice. "It is very important to America
that we find the general," Lombino said to
the Mafia leader. "Can you help us?"
T he question did not exactly surprise
Restelli. Lombino had already been in
touch with him through intermediaries;
and from his jail cell Restelli had dis-
patched his troops to track down leads.
Restelli had also ordered the supply line of
heroin to parts of the underworld cut off in
order to encourage tips from addicts stid-
denly deprived of drugs. Restelli's pre-
sumption: in exchange for giving the au-
thorities information on Dozier, he would
receive more favorable treatment from the
Italians. On Jan. 27, according to a partici-
pant at the meeting, Restelli gave the SISMI
agents the address of the apartment build-
ing in which Dozier was being held.
His mission accomplished, Lombino
returned to Rome. Next morning, Jan. 28,
he was sitting in his-room at the Hotel Bos-
ton with "M" when the word came: James
Dozier had just been rescued in a daring
raid at 2 Via Pindemonte, in the heart of
Padua. "M" turned to Lombino and
thanked him profusely for his help.
Since the rescue, U.S.- officials have
been careful to give full
credit to the Italians.. Both
Rome and Washington
that the success of the op-
eration was the result of
dogged police work and
the confessions of Red
Brigades members who
had been. captured during
the six-week search for
Dozier.
When first questioned
by TIME two weeks ago
about CIA and Mafia in-
volvement in the rescue,
Ambassador Rabb heat-
edly denied it. "I swear to
God that nothing like this
ever happened," the am-
bassador said. In fact, he
insisted, he had spent The key address: 2 Via Pindemonte, after the successful raid
TIME. FEIIRUARApp ed For Release 2000/08 R 0001V0270003-0---
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off help from Washington, which kept try-
ing to send to Italy a swarm of experts rang-
ing from FBI agents to Pentagon tacticians.
Some of the American aid was bizarre at
best: during the last week of the search,
TIME has learned, U.S. military officials
brought to Rome a psychic who sent the ca-
rabinieri chasing after a futile lead. "They
were coming through the windows, coming
through the doors," recalled Rabb. "Every-
body in the intelligence agencies wanted
in, but this was a job for the Italians."
When presented with evidence of Ma-
fia involvement, Rabb offered to check
with the embassy's CIA station chief.-,The
-ambassador returned 40 minutes later,
looking embarrassed. He confirmed that
SISMI had indeed made a' deal with Lom-
bino and that, after the U.S. had offered
Lombino protection and a guarantee that
he could return to the U.S., the Mafia law-
yer had gone to Italy and met with "M."
Rabb insisted that nothing had come of
Lombino's aid. "It was a big fizz," the am-
bassador said. The FBI and the Justice
Department refuse to confirm or deny the
story, while the CIA offers a terse
no comment."
It may never be known., just how valu-
able the Mafia's help was in finding Dozi-
er. Rabb's explanation, which minimizes
the Mafia's role, may be accurate. The
.Italian police did indeed make a series of
key arrests just before the raid, and law-
enforcement officials in Rome insist that
these suspects helped lead them to Dozier,
In the days just before the rescue, the trail
was growing so hot that the police might
have found the general without help from
Restelli. On the other hand, Italian mag-
istrates acknowledged that on Jan. 26
Restelli was secretly released from prison
at the request of SISMI and the CIA to meet
with officials in Milan. U.S. embassy per-
sonnel in Rome confirm - that Dozier's
whereabouts was not known until the
night before the raid, which is when the
Mafia leader reportedly gave the address
to the Italians.
Today General Dozier is stationed at
the U.S. Army base in Fort Knox, Ky. Mar-
cello Campione, who clashed with the head