Ioannes Theodosiou (1951 - 2008) was a Greek-born Italian Roman Catholic monsignor who headed the Roman Curia's commission in charge of the sale of Church lands. In this position, he played a central role in overseeing the Church's 2008 sale of a 20-acre beachfront property in Ostia, a process which was marred by the involvement of the Mafia Capitale, corrupt businesspeople (including the company owned by the husband of the Curia's own auditor Sara Monaschi), and small-time local gangs such as the Adami clan and the Anacleti clan. He committed suicide rather than be blackmailed by Spadino Anacleti, Gabriele Marchilli, Aureliano Adami, and his former friend Monaschi.
Biography[]
Monsignor Theodosiou on the way to the orgy
Ioannes Theodosiou was born in Greece to a Catholic family, and he became a Roman Catholic priest in Italy before being elevated to the Roman Curia. Theodosiou was publicly a pious man, but he privately engaged in sexual immorality, including sex parties accompanied by cocaine, alcohol, and other drugs. In 2008, Theodosiou was appointed to head the Curia's commission in charge of the sale of beachfront property in Ostia owned by the Church, as the Church sought to sell the valuable land to prevent itself from falling into debt. He warned Cardinal Cosimo Giunti that the Church needed to be sure of whom they were selling the land to, and the Curia's auditor Sara Monaschi agreed with Theodosiou that the Curia needed to pause and think on the matter. Monaschi then privately persuaded Theodosiou to decide in favor of her husband Sandro Monaschi's Edilcigno company in exchange for arranging a "carefree evening" (sex party) for Monaschi that same evening. During the party, Theodosiou overdosed on cocaine while spending time with the prostitute Isabelle Mbamba, and the party's organizers Spadino Anacleti, Gabriele Marchilli, and Aureliano Adami decided to blackmail Theodosiou with a sex tape, thinking of the profit in store once Theodosiou was forced to pay them. Spadino later visited Theodosiou in the hospital to blackmail him, forcing Theodosiou to contact Monaschi for help. Monaschi gave Spadino only €30,000 rather than the full ransom payment, and, after Marchilli was unable to pay back his massive debt to the crime boss Samurai, he betrayed Theodosiou's location to Anacleti and Adami, who kidnapped Theodosiou from his apartment after tailing him from the commission.
Monaschi talking with a freed Theodosiou
Monaschi was forced to go to Samurai and obtain his help with freeing the Monsignor in exchange for half of the Ostia land, and the Monsignor forced Spadino to free the priest from confinement at Spadino's club. However, Samurai changed the terms of his agreement with Sara, demanding all of Ostia. Monaschi was forced to turn to the Countess Sveva della Rocca Croce for help, and Sveva suggested that she get Theodosiou out of Rome as they used a guarantee notice to exclude the Ostia land from the building commission.
Theodosiou's body
Theodosiou went on a retreat to an abbey outside Rome, where he was later confronted by Anacleti and Adami, who demanded that he come with them to meet with Sara. Theodosiou locked himself behind a gate at the top of the abbey's tower and demanded that they bring Sara to him, and, when Sara met with Theodosiou alone, Theodosiou, feeling betrayed by Sara and guilty for his actions, told Sara that he prayed for her. Sara asked him to come away from the ledge of the tower, and attempted to comfort him by saying that Theodosiou would remember his near-death experience when he was preaching at a church in the countryside, as well as saying that both the Church and the people would forgive him. When Sara reached out her hand, Theodosiou made the sign of the cross and let himself fall backwards and off the tower to his death in the courtyard below.