Valerio, better known by his nickname "Samurai", was an enigmatic Italian crime boss who was the ringleader of the Mafia Capitale criminal organization in Rome during the 2000s. Valerio served as the Sicilian Mafia's connection in Rome, making him a powerful figure in local politics, but also ensuring that he was always the pawn of a larger, more ruthless and deadly organization which kept him in line.
Biography[]
Valerio was a former militant neo-fascist terrorist during the Years of Lead before becoming the Sicilian Mafia's contact in Rome, allowing him to form the powerful Mafia Capitale criminal organization and corruption ring. His years as a right-wing extremist landed him connections in politics, including a fellow former fascist militant, Giacomo Finucci, who went on tho serve as a municipal executive. In 2008, after Mayor Walter Veltroni's resignation, Samurai approached the corrupt politician Amedeo Cinaglia (through Finucci) to aid in his plan to force the Municipal Building Commission (which Cinaglia headed) to allow building on a piece of beachfront land in Ostia.
At the same time, he confronted the Romani crime boss Manfredi Anacleti for attempting to expand onto the Adami crime syndicate's territory, insisting that he owned all of Rome, and that, if the Sinti started a war, they would lose it. Samurai then had Aureliano Adami, the man who had assaulted Manfredi's cousin Boris Anacleti for trespassing at his club, give the Romani the profits from the family's northern zone, attempting to resolve the matter financially rather than violently. That same day, Samurai met with Cinaglia on the buss Cinaglia always took home from work, and he told Cinaglia that he valued politicians who had a connection with Rome's people, and that they both wanted what was best for the city; Samurai then gave Cinaglia a note to read at a later time.
When Samurai found out from Cardinal Cosimo Giunti that Monsignor Theodosiou, the chair of the Roman Curia's land sale commission, only listened to the advice of the commission's auditor Sara Monaschi, who sought the beachfront property for her husband Sandro Monaschi's company, Samurai personally met with Monaschi at the hair salon and told her that he wanted the beachfront property. Monaschi said that she was only the commission's auditor, but Samurai revealed that he knew that Monaschi intended to have the property sold to her husband, and told her that the city was very gossipy. He also cryptically threatened her, saying that he knew where to find her then, and that he would know where to find her in the future, "if need be."
Samurai meeting with Ferdinando Badali
That night, Samurai met with the Mafia representative Ferdinando Badali at a snack bar, and Badali asked what the Mayor's resignation meant to the land acquisition. Samurai said that it just meant that he just needed to speed things up, and, while Samurai assured Badali that it was only a matter of time before he acquired the Vatican land, Badali told Samurai, "You've had time." Samurai angrily responded, "I created this deal. I know how to manage Rome and its timing." Badali was amused at "the mouse that roared", and he laughed to his bodyguard that Samurai had forgotten that the money in the deal was the Mafia's. Badali also rudely suggested, "Maybe he's getting old...and forgetting things." He then recalled that his father had said that Samurai was a man of his word, and Samurai responded, "Your father is a good judge of men." Badali told Samurai that he should not, then, disappoint his father, and he left with his bodyguards.
Samurai meeting with Cinaglia at the Suburra
Samurai went on to meet with Cinaglia that same night at the Suburra, where he said that he wanted to help Cinaglia find his place in the world. Samurai then revealed to Cinaglia that he wanted the proposal for unifying the land in Ostia, and that he wanted the land deal to be approved before the Mayor's resignation came into effect. Cinaglia then warned Samurai that the Ostia land had various owners, with the Church holding the biggest piece. He also warned Samurai that final approval required the signature of the Commissioner's technical counselor, Giacomo Finucci. Samurai assured Cinaglia that Finucci would not be a problem, saying, "Priests, criminals, and technical counselors...the cards are already marked. Know who's missing? You." When Cingalia was shocked, Samurai chuckled and said that Cinaglia was like a child seeking approval who discovered that, in the "grown-up world", there were other rules and other interests. The next day, Samurai also called in the €20,000 debt owed to him by the teenage drug dealer Gabriele Marchilli, who had come into Samurai's debt for pushing pills at one of Samurai's gyms. Marchilli worked with his fellow drug dealers Aureliano Adami and Spadino Anacleti to blackmail Monsignor Theodosiou with a sex tape, hoping to make a collective €300,000 and split it three ways so that Marchilli could pay off his debt and still keep €80,000 for himself.
Samurai meeting Cinaglia at the soccer field
Samurai ultimately persuaded Cinaglia to go along with his plan, occasionally using Finucci as a go-between, but occasionally meeting with Cinaglia himself. One afternoon, Cinaglia sat on a park bench and met with Samurai, and Samurai - looking out at the kids playing soccer - curiously asked Cinaglia about the day he stopped dreaming about being a champion. Cinaglia said that he never played soccer, and, after a pause, he told Samurai that he would have the agenda amended so that the Ostia business would be discussed first. Cinaglia stated that rigging the agenda would be all he would do for Samurai, and Samurai clarified that the agenda business was all he wanted from Cinaglia. Samurai then asked Cinaglia's price, and Cinaglia responded that he wanted Samurai to pay for his election campaign, and that he wanted to be at the top of the ticket. Samurai told Cinaglia to do what he asked, and he assured him that he would be very generous. Samurai then stood up, and, when Cinaglia asked who the Ostia land was going to, Samurai jokingly warned Cinaglia, "Be careful, you might come to like this game."
Samurai offering Gabriele Marchilli a tissue
That night, Samurai visited his right-hand man Saverio Guerri as he made a debt collection, and he came across a young man heaving as he dismounted his motorcycle. Samurai offered the young man a tissue and asked if he was alright, and Marchilli tersely responded, "Fine," wiped his mouth, and ran off. Samurai then asked Guerri who the boy was, and Guerri revealed that he was one of the many who had to pay them.
Monaschi meeting with Samurai
Later that evening, at around 9:00 PM, Sara Monaschi called Samurai, who drove his motorcycle to meet her at the Suburra. There, she told Samurai that a priest on the Vatican commission had been kidnapped, and that she wanted Samurai's help with finding him. Samurai then asked what Monaschi would give him if he could find the priest, so she offered to split the Ostia land 50/50 between them.
Samurai meeting with Spadino
The next morning, Samurai met Spadino as the latter left from breakfast at a restaurant, and, while Spadino suggested that his brother Manfredi was at home, Samurai said that he didn't need to speak to Manfredi, but to Spadino. Samurai then asked Spadino about his business, and, while Spadino lied and said that he was doing family business, Samurai confronted Spadino over blackmailing a priest and making him disappear. Samurai then asked Spadino why he was doing business outside the family, and, while Spadino said that it wasn't Samurai's problem, Samurai said that it was, or else he wouldn't even talk to someone like Spadino. When Samurai asked where the priest was, Spadino asked him to let him try and make a deal, as Spadino said that he was going to make a lot of cash with the priest. Samurai merely told Spadino to free the priest immediately, and he then left on his motorcycle.
Over the next several days, Samurai's plans to acquire the Ostia beachfront for his Mafia friends were complicated by various factors. After the Anacleti clan discovered that Aureliano Adami had killed Boris Anacleti, the Anacletis shot Adami in a failed assassination attempt, leading to Aureliano's father Tullio Adami seeking vengeance against the Anacletis. Samurai attempted to calm Tullio, but Tullio defied him and said that he was going to avenge his son; Samurai thus leveraged Gabriele Marchilli into shooting Tullio Adami dead, and serving as his eyes and ears in the Adami clan. At the same time, Finucci was placed under indictment due to the maneuvering of Samurai's business rival, Countess Sveva della Rocca Croce, forcing Samurai to contact Cinaglia and curry favor with Finucci's replacement on the Municipal Building Commission, Gianni Taccon. Thirdly, Monsignor Theodosiou went missing, delaying the building commission's decision on the land sale, and Samurai ordered Monaschi to retrieve the priest and see to it that he received the Ostia beachfront, or else she would suffer the consequences. Instead, Monaschi partnered with Marchilli, Aureliano Adami, and Spadino Anacleti to sell the beachfront property to her husband's company, with the three young men protecting her against Samurai. Ferdinando Badali continued to warn Samurai about the slow pace of the land acquisition; after noticing that Samurai still kept an old horse at his racetrack, Badali cryptically told Samurai that they killed old horses where he came from, insinuating that Samurai's life would be on the line if he failed to produce results for his partners.
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