Amanda Knox Prosecutor Tainted by 'Satanism' Case

As Meredith Kercher's killers prepare their appeal, serious questions are being asked about the man who led the case against them

By Peter Popham

One of Italy's most rambunctious legal performers, the scourge of Amanda Knox, was back in action last week.

Plump, pompous and perspiring, Giuliano Mignini, 60, may look like a character out of Dickens, but in persuading a Perugia jury to convict Knox and her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito of murdering Knox's English flatmate Meredith Kercher, the public prosecutor for the city of Perugia earned himself a reputation for steely ruthlessness in nailing his enemies.

A devout Catholic with a dim view of lax modern ways, he went on to demand that Knox serve not 26 years, as decided by the court, but life. And he was on form again this week, adding to the American student's woes by prosecuting her for slander. During the murder trial, Knox had claimed that, during an all-night grilling, a woman police officer had repeatedly slapped her. Mignini said "the good name of the Perugia police" had been attacked and asked the judge to add another six years to Knox's sentence.

Read the rest of the article here.

Motivations Against Giuliano Mignini

Comments Allowed

Back in January, Giuliano Mignini was convicted for abusing his office. Just as all criminal cases in Italy, the judge's must publish their motivations 90 days after the verdict. Last month this blog posted a summary of the charges and significance against prosecutor Mignini (which we were able to do thanks to a very informed source who has followed the case closely in Florence). You can read that summary and view the sentencing report here. As discussed in that post, the charges Mignini was convicted for are:

1.) Illegally investigating journalists who had criticized him with the "intent to harass or deter them from pursuing their legitimate profession". Specifically the court found that Mignini had targeted Italian journalists Vincenzo Tessandori, Gennaro De Stefano, and Roberto Fiasconaro, because they had criticized his investigations into the death of Narducci.

2.) Ordering an illegal investigation of the Florentine ex police chief Giuseppe De Donno.

3.) Ordering illegal investigations of two officials of the Viminale, the Ministry of the Interior in Rome, including an illegal investigation of the Roberto Sgalla, ex-director of the office of external affairs.

For the news round up from the day of Mignini's conviction, click here.

For info on the defamation suits related to this case, including Giuliano Mignini, click here.

Now the motivation document is available to the public and you can read that document embedded here. Below are both the Italian and English versions. The English version is a computer translation, so at the moment that translation is rough. For the Italian version, this is the full and unredacted copy.

Italian Version Part 1

Italian Mignini 1 -

Italian Version Part 2

Italian Mignini 2 -

English Version Part 1 (Rough Translation)

Mignini part 1 doc -

English Version Part 2 (Rough Translation)

Mignin Motivation part 2_2_ -

Behind Giuliano Mignini's Own Conviction

A few months ago the head prosecutor in the case against Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, Giuliano Mignini, was convicted for conducting illegal investigations in connection with the Narducci case, an alleged murder originally thought to be a suicide. Incidentally, Mignini submitted a ridiculous "switched-body" scenario in that case just as ludicrous as his theory in the case at hand. For some context on the Narducci case, here is a short explanation.

Aside from the possibility of being forced from office as prosecutor, the Narducci case could have further repurcussions. Mignini's computer was seized and contained an enemies list. You can read more on that here.

Below is an explanation of the charges and conviction against Giuliano Mignini as well as the charge where he was acquitted.

Sentencing Report for Giuliano Mignini

What were the charges Giuliano Mignini was convicted for?

The charges against Giuliano Mignini are threefold and involve more than just illegal wiretapping. The court convicted Mignini for the following:

1.) Illegally investigating journalists who had criticized him with the "intent to harass or deter them from pursuing their legitimate profession". Specifically the court found that Mignini had targeted Italian journalists Vincenzo Tessandori, Gennaro De Stefano, and Roberto Fiasconaro, because they had criticized his investigations into the death of Narducci.

2.) Ordering an illegal investigation of the Florentine ex police chief Giuseppe De Donno.

3.) Ordering illegal investigations of two officials of the Viminale, the Ministry of the Interior in Rome, including an illegal investigation of the Roberto Sgalla, ex-director of the office of external affairs.

Why were Giuliano Mignini's investigations illegal?
These investigations were illegal because they involved illegal wiretaps (wiretaps without judicial approval) and Mignini illegally created investigative files for the targets outside of normal judicial procedures and approvals. These were illegal freelance investigations, the court determined, designed to "harass and intimidate" people who had criticized him or Chief Inspector Michele Giuttari for their conduct in the Narducci investigation.

What was Giuliano Mignini acquitted of?
Along with being charged with conducting illegal investigations, Mignini was also charged with "aiding and abetting" where he was accused of informing Giuttari that he was the target of a criminal inquiry by the "procura di Genova" who was investigating Giuttari for doctoring the transcript and tape of a wiretap to put false and incriminating words in the mouth of a targeted suspect.

How serious are the charges?
Some uninformed bloggers have described the charges against Mignini as an "administrative charge"---a claim which is completely bogus. Mignini was given a 16 month prison sentence, 6 months more than even the prosecutor had asked for. However, he is unlikely to see jail time and his sentence is suspended while his case is on appeal.

While Mignini will most likely never spend time in jail, if his conviction is upheld, he will be removed from public office and never be allowed to serve as a prosecutor or judge again.

It is important to keep in mind that the Florentine judge in this case imposed a heavier sentence than what was asked for, which came as a huge surprise to even Mignini himself. A judge handing out a stronger sentence than asked for is extremely rare in Italy and serves as an incredibly strong condemnation of Mignini's illegal behavior (though under Italian law he is still presumed innocent until he has exhausted his appeals---as are Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito).

NOTE: Whenever you are in doubt about how serious a charge is, just look at the length of the possible sentence. That is the barometer for how seriously society judges that specific crime.

More info on Mignini's Conviction

For the news round up from the day of Mignini's conviction, click here.

For info on the defamation suits related to this case, including Giuliano Mignini, click here.

Rayrayturner@gmail.com

Prosecutors Manuela Comodi and Giuliano Mignini Plan to Appeal the Sentences of Raffaele Sollecito and Amanda Knox

There should be a lot of news this coming week as Amanda Knox's appeal is due on Tuesday. Expect in the next week to hear more about what each party plans to argue on appeal as well as possible new evidence that wasn't heard in court. I will also be posting more specifics on the charges against Mignini sometime within the next week which should create a clearer understanding over what he was convicted for and why.

From Perugia-Shock:

We'll hardly appeal the sentence, prosecutors Giuliano Mignini and Manuela Comodi said after the conviction of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito. But then the motivations Giancarlo Massei released didn't really make them happy. Massei was too kind.

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From Ann Wise and Nikki Battiste of ABC:

The Italian prosecutors who sent American college student Amanda Knox to prison for 26 years filed an appeal of the case today, asking the court for a tougher sentence.

The appeal came just days before Knox's lawyers are expected to file their own appeal of her conviction for murdering British roommate Meredith Kercher in 2007.

The prosecution did not specify the sentence it wants imposed on Knox, but by arguing that the court should have considered an aggravating circumstance in handing out Knox's punishment, a life sentence would be almost automatic.

continue reading here......

Email: Rayrayturner@gmail.com

Giuliano Mignini's Enemies List

Translated from Panorama, an Italian Magazine.  For original version in Italian click here.

You're my enemy? Then I will indict you.

The Index. Following the conviction of the pm Giuliano Mignini and of the policeman-turned-writer Michele Giuttari, their methods of investigation have come under severe criticism. Many blacklists found.

A blacklist, a secret file with the names of parliamentarians, ministers, and journalists. This is what investigators have discovered on the personal computer of Giuliano Mignini, the Italian prosecutor who has been heavily criticized in America (the same one who pointed a severely accusatory finger against the American Amanda Knox in the trial for the death of Meredith Kercher) and the lead investigator in the second part of the investigation of the Monster of Florence.

Florentine prosecutors Luca Turco and Gabriele Mazzotta have uncovered a series of “strange items” in the investigations conducted by Mignini and the policeman-writer Michele Giuttari, who were searching for the masterminds behind the serial killings of couples. The end result: on January 22 the Tribunale of Florence convicted the magistrate and the chief inspector for abuse of office.

According to the verdict of conviction (the two men received respectively a year and six months and a year and four months in prison, beyond a ban on holding public office), the two, in 2006, illegally investigated certain journalists, the police chief of Florence Giuseppe De Donno and two high officials of the Viminale [the Ministry of the Interior in Rome].

However, the disturbing files in question opened other possibilities. The affair had its origin in April 2006, during the sensational arrest of the journalist Mario Spezi for involvement in murder and obstruction of justice. Spezi spent 23 days in prison, of which five were spent in an isolation cell, denied access to his attorney, under laws of the Penal Code meant to be applied only to extremely dangerous criminals such as terrorists.

Spezi’s arrest unleashed scathing criticism by some journalists. Giuttari and Mignini responded with a series of “assessments” (later judged illegal by the tribunale) authorized under the signature of Judge Marina De Robertis, who used a legal procedure meant only to be employed in an emergency; but these emergency authorizations were never retroactively justified as required by law.

One of the cases involved the wiretapping of a cellular telephone owned by the daily newspaper, La Stampa, in use by the reporter Vincenzo Tessandori, who was moreover illegally investigated beyond normal judicial procedures, but who had written several articles critical of the investigation. The same illegal harassment was directed at other newspaper reporters such as Gennaro De Stefano (who has since died) and Roberto Fiasconaro.

Giuttari and Mignini ordered the wiretapping and shadowing of two police officials from the press office of the Polizia in Rome, who had earlier asked Giuttari to limit his television appearances.

These are the facts that have emerged from the Florentine inquiries. Here is a passage from the indictments written by the pm Turco regarding the fact that the victims of this judicial abuse were investigated illegally, outside of normal judicial procedures. “If Mignini suspected a crime had been committed, he had the capacity and obligation to investigate the suspect in a proper and legal manner.” But even more disturbing, for the repercussions it had, is the list of “enemies” of Mignini.

From December 2005 to May 2006 a file was created and added to entitled “Attacks to Remember”, in which there is another file: “Orgy of Attacks Following the Arrest of Spezi; an index of newspapers: Libero, Il Giornale, Oggi.” Following that is a long list of people “To Remember” that consisted of the names of some of the most prominent judges involved in the case of the Monster of Florence, a long list of politicians, among which could be found the ex-mayor of Florence, Leonardo Domenici, the deputy mayor Michele Venturo and the Minister of the Environment Altero Matteoli, all of whom signed a petition of solidarity protesting Spezi’s incarceration.

Another Giuliano Mignini Defamation Suit: Now Amanda's Own Attorney and Italian Journalists Meet the Hammer of Odd Justice

From Perugia-Shock:

I didn't sue anyone, Mignini says in his office. But the indiscretion I just received is clear: an investigation for defamation is running against Amanda Knox's lawyer Luciano Ghirga, Raffaele Sollecito's lawyer Luca Maori, and Oggi journalist Giangavino Sulas, along with the director and editor of that magazine.

continue here....

Close followers of the case should no longer be surprised about any new defamation suits from here on out. In fact, there are so many now I'm starting to lose track. A defamation rehab clinic might be advisable for the sensitive Mignini. The list so far is as follows:

1. Amanda Knox: Charged with defamation of the police for claiming she was hit. No investigation was necessary, said Manuela Comodi, co-prosecutor. More on the defamation charge against Knox can be found here.

2. The West Seattle Herald: Mignini filed defamation charges in this case because Herald reporter Steve Shay quoted other people saying Mignini was "mentally unstable". Mignini sued the paper, mind you, not the people actually making this claim. You can read more about it here. It was ridiculous at the time and it's ridiculous now. Incidentally, this case has gone nowhere and obviously never will. Mignini actually stated he wanted U.S. officials to shut down the Herald.

3. Joe Cottonwood (Fiction Writer): I wrote about this in September of 2009. No U.S. papers picked it up, but some Italian ones did. Joe Cottonwood had the misfortune of being sued by Giuliano Mignini for this quote in an Italian newspaper:

"The Meredith Kercher murder is

one of those mirrors that reflects the prejudices of whoever is looking into it. There is no physical evidence and no credible motive, and yet an egotistical prosecutor is blaming Amanda Knox anyway. In the USA, this would only happen if she were black. Perhaps partying American college kids are so hated in Italy that Amanda will be treated as blacks are treated in the USA, and she will be convicted not because of the evidence but because of general resentment of shallow rich Americans. Personally, from what I've read I don't like Amanda Knox. She sounds spoiled, naive, and shallow. But that's not a crime. I loathe the prosecutor, who has a counterpart in every city in the USA - a preening, intellectually dishonest bully who cares more about making newspaper headlines than in serving justice. It's the same all over the world. Power and prejudice are the enemies of justice."

Mignini charged Cottonwood with criminal defamation, which could have included a jail sentence. Upon Mignini's own conviction for abuse of power, Cottonwood now asks "Am I still a criminal?". Well Mr. Cottonwood, if you're not a criminal now, you will be soon if you don't keep your mouth shut! I expect this case to go nowhere at all.

4. Edda Mellas and Curt Knox: Conveniently timed just before the verdict against their daughter, parents of Amanda Knox, Curt and Edda, were served defamation papers for statements made in an interview with John Follain.

5. Luciano Ghirga (Attorney for Amanda Knox), Luca Maori (Attorney for Raffaele Sollecito), Giangavino Sulas (Journalist for Oggi Magazine), Editor and Director of Oggi Magazine.
6. Mario Spezi: Italian journalist who co-wrote The Monster of Florence with journalist and author Doug Preston. His statement? According to Frank Sfarzo, "The work of Mignini has been a shame." (Paraphrased) Oh ya, and for good measure, Mignini actually accused Spezi of murder at one point.
7. Gabriella Carlizzi: Roman "Psychic" who Mignini has charged with defamation multiple times even though, according to Doug Preston, he used her as a "very important witness in the Monster of Florence Case."

Total count comes to 11 people charged with defamation. Who am I missing?

You can easily see why most common law jurisdictions give absolute immunity for allegedly defamatory statements if made during a legal proceeding. Look what happens when someone falls in love with these kind of law suits/charges.

If Mignini is reading, he may want to go to this page here and put in an application pronto.

Note: Another article by Spokane attorney Bill Edelblute, who writes for the Examiner.com, also recapped Mignini's defamation cases. You can find the article here.

I called Mignini asking for comment, he stated: "I hesitate to answer any inquiry as I fear I may be forced to charge myself with defamation. How can I charge someone other than myself now? There is no one left!". Ok ok, obviously a joke. We'll call it "satire", a protected form of speech in the United States--just in case Giuliano Mignini gets any wacky ideas!

UPDATE: We can now add another person to the Giuliano Mignini Walk of Defame list thanks to an email by one of our readers.

8. Francesca Bene, who works for a small Italian paper, Giornale dell 'Umbria, who was interrogated by one of the same police women that interrogated Amanda Knox and was indicted for causing public alarm by publishing false information.

The Italian justice system should get rid of Mignini

Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini has now been convicted by a court in Florence of abusing his official powers. He has been sentenced to 16 months in prison, but, as is usual in Italian criminal justice, he is free to live his life and practice his profession while the appeal is heard.

Mignini describes the charges against him as technical and hard to understand. In fact, they spring from specific acts in which he abused the power of his office.

The story has its origins in a series of shocking murders committed during the 1970s and 80s by someone whom the press dubbed the Monster of Florence (MOF). Young couples, who had parked in a remote place to have sex, were shot with a pistol. The bodies of the women were grotesquely mutilated after they were dead.

Crime experts recognize the MOF murders as the work of a particular kind of sexual deviant, one whose best-known precedent is Jack the Ripper. Mignini, however, is no crime expert. He is a crackpot who sees the world through a veil of ignorance and superstition. He got involved in the MOF case while investigating the death of a Dr. Narducci, whose drowned corpse was found in a lake near Perugia. In a flight of pure fantasy, Mignini concocted a theory that linked Narducci's death to the MOF. The essence of his theory is that the MOF killings were done by assassins who were paid to procure body parts used in the rituals of a Satanic cult. Dr. Narducci belonged to this cult, but he had become a security risk, so other cult members decided to kill him and make it look like an accident or suicide.

This theory attracted widespread and well-deserved ridicule. Among Mignini's critics were author Doug Preston and his Italian writing partner, Mario Spezi. Preston was living in Italy when he and Spezi came up with the idea of doing a book about the MOF. They realized that Mignini's theory was preposterous, and Spezi said so publicly. In response, Mignini forced Preston to leave the country and ordered the police to bug Spezi's car and ransack his office. Eventually Mignini arrested Spezi and threw him in jail, which attracted the ire of a human rights group, the Committee to Protect Journalists. After three weeks, a judge ordered Spezi's release despite Mignini's vehement objections.

This conduct forms the basis of the criminal charges for which Mignini has now been convicted. The matter has attracted attention outside Italy because Mignini also led the Meredith Kercher murder investigation. His theory in that case is as far-fetched as his speculation about the MOF. In his closing argument at the trial of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, Mignini told the court that Amanda spearheaded the attack to "take revenge on that prissy girl" and taunted Meredith by saying, "now you'll be forced to have sex."

In fact, there is no evidence that Amanda uttered these improbable words or harbored any such thoughts. No one has ever claimed that Amanda displayed the slightest hostility toward Meredith, either directly or in conversation with others. But evidence is not important to Mignini. He solves crimes simply by using his filthy mind to imagine what might have happened.

That is fine for masturbation, but it's not how a prosecutor is supposed to operate. Amanda and Raffaele should be freed while their appeal is pending, and Mignini should be taken out of commission before he damages more innocent lives.

NBC Report on the Conviction of Giuliano Mignini

Giuliano Mignini is a Convicted Criminal (Part 2: Video from King 5 in Seattle)

More detailed report from Linda Byron with Video:

Italian Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini successfully convinced a jury that Amanda Knox masterminded the slaying of her former British housemate, Meredith Kercher, during a drug fueled sex game.

Knox was convicted of murder in December and sentenced to 26 years in prison. Her conviction was a personal victory for Mignini, who is the Public Minister of Perugia and a powerful prosecutor.

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Giuliano Mignini is a Convicted Criminal

UPDATE

Mignini could face a disciplinary proceeding suspending his functions as prosector. From Perugia-Shock:

The penalty was suspended and an appeal is pending, but the Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura --the national organ of government of the judiciary-- could start disciplinary proceedings which could lead to the suspension of Mignini from his functions. The disciplinary trial, to be held behind closed doors, could start any time by CSM's own initiative. It would involve another magistrate defending Mignini and could last several weeks.

MAIN STORY
Condemned. Giuliano Mignini, the prosecutor who headed the investigation and prosecution of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, is now a convicted criminal himself.

Before the verdict was handed down, Mignini told reporters "My conscience is clean. I know I didn't do anything."

He has received a 1 year and four month sentence (along with his partner, who got an extra two months) for abuse of office and bugging journalists in connection with the Fransesco Narducci case. Mignini's sentence was even more than the 10 months that the Florentine prosecutor, Luca Turco, had asked for.

Neither is likely to see jail time, however, because it is a first offense. Amazingly, Italian law allows prosecutor Mignini to keep his job for the time being as well.

Mignini said he was bewildered by the verdict. "I am shocked," he said. "It was totally unexpected."

And the irony continues as Mignini then complained that he has been the victim of a power struggle stating, "This case never should have been tried in Florence". Perhaps Mignini should have thought to seek the help of Seattle area judge Michael Heavey to help him request a change of venue.

Even SeattlePi.com's Andrea Vogt couldn't really spin this one, try as she might. It would be nice to have a quote from one of the prosecutors in Florence, you know, so that we can hear both sides.

Amanda Knox Prosecutor: Giuliano Mignini (Report from NW Cable News)

Italian

Today Linda Byron reported on NW Cable News on prosecutor Giuliano Mignini. You can watch the video here. Much has been made in the media about Mignini's charges for abuse of power in connection with the Monster of Florence case and his ability under Italian law to still serve as prosecutor while his own case is being resolved. Byron reported that Mignini's trial could take as long as 5 years, and until his case has reached finality, Mignini is free to remain as prosecutor.

Byron also interviewed Doug Preston, author of the book the Monster of Florence. Preston himself was interrogated by Mignini and told to leave Italy and said the following about the case against Amanda and Raffaelle:

"There are many parallels between the 'Monster of Florence' case and the Knox case, I mean there are shocking parallels," said American crime writer Doug Preston, who wrote a book about the "Monster of Florence."

"He decides right up front with almost no evidence based on his gut feeling or intuition that you're guilty and then sets out to prove it," he said.

I have not read Preston's book and am in no position to say whether Mignini is actually guilty of the charges against him. However, the fact that he is under indictment, (where the prosecutor against him has asked for jail time) but is still allowed to prosecute high level cases enunciates a major problem with the Italian system of justice. This is not an attack on Mignini himself. He maintains his innocence and isn't the person who created the laws.

But why is this a problem? For one it creates a cloud of illegitimacy on any proceeding that prosecutor takes part in. Second, because trials take so long in Italy, if a prosecutor were under indictment for even more serious charges, you run the risk of having a criminal serving as a prosecutor for years. And lastly, even if Italy decided to reform their system and suspend prosecutors when brought under indictment, because there is no right to speedy trial in Italy, this could mean an innocent prosecutor who has been indicted would be jobless for years through no fault of his own while his trial drags on.