Spadino Anacleti

Alberto "Spadino" Anacleti was an Italian Sinti gang member who lived in Rome during the 2000s. The brother of Romani crime boss Manfredi Anacleti, Spadino formed a tense partnership with the ziganophobic Ostia gangster and rival drug dealer Aureliano Adami and the indebted pill pusher Gabriele Marchilli in 2008, starting with their blackmail of the important priest, Monsignor Theodosiou, with a sex tape.

Biography[]

Alberto Anacleti was born in Rome, Italy, the son of Adelaide Anacleti, the brother of Manfredi Anacleti, and the cousin of Boris Anacleti. Anacleti came from a Roma family, and he followed his brother, a gang leader, into a life of crime. While "Spadino" was a closeted homosexual, he was betrothed to marry a Roma woman, Angelica Sale, by his mother in 2008; his mother knew that he was homosexual, but she kept her knowledge secret from everyone but Alberto himself. On the day of his wedding, Spadino dismissed his mother's claim that a woman could make his life better, leading to his mother saying that she knew what he "was"; Spadino asked his mother what he was, and she responded, "What you are, whatever you are, you can't be that here, in this house, in this family...you can't!" Anacleti angrily walked off, and he got drunk at a bar before his engagement party that night.

Spadino drinking before his wedding — Spadino drinking before his engagement party

While his drunken arrival at his wedding initially worried the guests, he called for music, and the guests sang, danced, and cheered as Anacleti wildly danced. When a happy Angelica walked up to Spadino to kiss and seal their engagement, she had to kiss the unaffectionate Spadino, who made no effort to engage in the kiss. That same night, Spadino's cousin Boris was murdered by the rival gangster Aureliano Adami over a series of insults and transgressions starting with Boris' intrusion onto the Adami syndicate's territory. Late that night, Gabriele Marchilli called on Spadino for help with supplying drugs for an orgy which the Roman Curia's auditor Sara Monaschi had him arrange as a bribe for Monsignor Theodosiou, as Marchilli's original link, Aureliano Adami, was late to the party (as he had killed and buried Spadino's cousin Boris). When Aureliano showed up, Aureliano and Spadino nearly got into a fight over Aureliano's ziganophobia, but they were distracted when Theodosiou collapsed from a drug overdose. When Marchilli revealed that Theodosiou was a priest, Spadino suggested that they could blackmail him with a sex tape made by the prostitute Isabelle Mbamba, as, the bigger the priest Theodosiou was, the more they could make from blackmailing him. The three men ultimately decided to blackmail the priest as a team and split the blackmail money three ways.

The next day, Spadino visited Theodosiou in the hospital and put his hand over Theodosiou's mouth when he woke up, showing him the sex tape and telling him that he was sure that Theodosiou didn't want the video released. He then demanded a large amount of cash in exchange for ensuring that nobody would see the incriminating video. Spadino then took his hand off the Monsignor's mouth, and the Monsignor asked how much Spadino wanted. Spadino demanded €300,000, and, when the priest began to panic, Spadino aimed a gun at the priest's head and told him that he wanted the priest to give him the money that same afternoon.

Spadino and Angelica at the wedding venue

That same afternoon, Spadino reluctantly went with Angelica to visit the wedding venue, where Spadino showed little interest in either Angelica or the wedding itself. When Angelica and Spadino sat down by a fountain, Angelica asked Spadino if he wasn't into the wedding. Spadino claimed that he merely wasn't good at picking food for other people, so Angelica asked Spadino what he was good at. Spadino said that he was good at many things, apart from being at the wedding venue, so she suggested that they do something that Spadino was good at. They visited Anacleti's dance bar, where Anacleti spurned Angelica's advances and said that he only came to the club during the day to be alone without others bothering him. Their conversation was interrupted when Anacleti received a phone call from Gabriele, forcing him to tell Angelica to stay put as he left.

The blackmailers meeting to discuss Sara Monaschi's involvement — The blackmailers meeting to discuss Sara Monaschi's interference

When the blackmailers met with Gabriele in person, he revealed that the priest had talked, and that a woman from "the Rome that matters" - who had told him to organize the party - wanted him to find the black girl. Aureliano said that he would take care of the hooker, but he said that the priest needed to know that the blackmailers were not playing. Aureliano suggested that they put a small clip of the video online without showing the priest's face, just to scare him. Anacleti then asked since when Aureliano had been in charge, and said that he did not want to take orders. Aureliano smiled and told Marchilli, "We found the only gypsy who knows how to think!" Aureliano then told Gabriele to come with him, while Anacleti returned to the bar, where he found out from the bartender that his fiancee had left, angry at Spadino.

At 4:00 PM, Aureliano, Gabriele, and Spadino met up to collect the blackmail money from the priest, and Spadino and Aureliano made fun of Gabriele for being quiet, with Aureliano saying that it must be indigestion; Gabriele said that he just wanted to get the blackmail over with. Spadino then left the vehicle, but not before Aureliano said that he didn't trust him with the money because he was a gypsy, leading to Spadino flipping Aureliano off before he walked off to make the exchange. Gabriele privately expressed his revulsion for Aureliano and Spadino's "game"-like lifestyles as professional criminals, but Aureliano joked, "It's better to have fun when you work, bro." At the same time, Aureliano and Gabriele were surprised to see a woman meet with Spadino on the park bench, and Gabriele told Aureliano that she was Sara, the woman who had him organize the party. Sara handed Spadino a packet of money, but Spadino was amused that she had only given him a tenth of the amount. While Spadino offered to view it as payment in advance, Sara said that it was the entire payment, and that it was all that the priest had. Spadino said that Sara should go back to the priest and warn him that, if he did not pay the full amount, his face would end up all over the place. Sara retorted that, if Spadino put the tape online, the police would find him in five minutes. Spadino then got up and warned Sara that the situation did not end there, but Sara declared, "I say it does." Spadino then returned to the car, threw the money into the front seat, and, when Aureliano asked what the €30,000 meant, Spadino explained that Sara said that she had given him all the priest had.

An angered Aureliano proceeded to cock his gun, tuck it into his back pocket, exit the car, pop up his hood, and briskly walk into the hospital, causing Gabriele to worry where he was going. Aureliano found out from a nun in the Monsignor's hospital room that the Monsignor had left an hour earlier, and he and the others drove back to their original meeting spot, where Aureliano grew pessimistic about their chances, dismissing Gabriele's reminder that they still had the video, as the priest had gone missing. Aureliano and Spadino proceeded to split and drive off in their own cars, causing Gabriele to panic. When Spadino returned home that night, he was met with more misfortune, as his fiancee slapped him and told him that she would never let anyone treat her like Spadino did by leaving her at the bar, even as Spadino insisted that he was having a bad day. Manfredi then approached Spadino and asked what happened, and Spadino said that nothing happened, and that it was his own business. Manfredi reminded Spadino that nothing happened in their home that was one person's private business, and Spadino then walked inside with his brother.

Aureliano and Spadino kidnapping the priest

At 7:00 PM, Aureliano and Spadino received a call from Gabriele that he knew where the priest was, as he was preparing to join a meeting of the Roman Curia. Aureliano and Spadino came across the priest just before he could enter the commission, causing the priest to run to a dry cleaner near his home to call Sara for help as Aureliano and Spadino searched for him. Just as Aureliano and Spadino were about to lose the priest, Gabriele spotted the priest returning to his apartment and called Aureliano and Spadino with his location, and the two men followed the priest into his apartment and held him at gunpoint as he self-flagellated in penance for his sins. Aureliano said that the priest had not yet repented enough, and he had the priest continue to whip himself as Aureliano asked the priest how much he had in his bank account. The priest responded €15-20,000, but an angered Spadino grabbed him by the hair and told him that he was head of the Vatican's commission, and could thus go to the Vatican Bank and ask for money. Spadino then asked if the priest could ask the bank for €300,000, and the priest reluctantly said that he could. Aureliano then pointed a gun at Theodosiou and told him that he was coming with them to ensure that nothing was messed up, that, in the morning, Theodosiou would send someone to get the money, and the blackmailers would then forget all about Theodosiou. They then brought him to Aureliano's club, where they tied him up in the storage room.

Gabriele, Spadino, and Aureliano hanging out at the club

The three then hung out in the room next door, where Spadino humorously danced and said that the music was great. Aureliano then jokingly asked Gabriele if Spadino's moves made him want to dance, and the three shared some laughs before Spadino proposed that they toast to their success. Aureliano said that he still had things to do, and he walked out, but Spadino had Gabriele grab a pair of glasses, and the two had drinks together. That same night, however, Manfredi Anacleti's men discovered Boris' mutilated body at a viaduct in Eur.

The next morning, Samurai met Spadino as the latter left from breakfast at a restaurant, and, while Spadino suggested that his brother 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.

Spadino promptly returned to his club, where he opened the door to the back room, cut the priest free, and yelled at him to leave. The confused priest ran off after Spadino cut his plastic handcuffs, and Spadino muttered a curse at the Monsignor as he fled. Spadino then faced Gabriele and Aureliano when they came in, and, when Aureliano asked how the priest was doing, Spadino said that he had to set him free. Aureliano was enraged, and Spadino explained that Samurai visited him that morning. While Aureliano stormed out, Gabriele asked what Samurai said, and Spadino said that Samurai knew that they had kidnapped the priest and were blackmailing him. When Gabriele asked if Samurai knew about himself and Aureliano, Spadino angrily said that Samurai knew nothing about them.

Aureliano then returned and said that Spadino should have talked to him before doing anything, and he then insulted Gabriele as "a cop's son" and Spadino as a "gypsy scumbag" who was like his brother, except that Manfredi was a "man". The two proceeded to fight, with Aureliano choking Spadino, and Spadino daring Aureliano to kill him. Gabriele helped to break up the fight, and Aureliano told Spadino that he never wanted to see him again, before storming out. An angry Spadino shouted and swept the cups from the bar's counter while Gabriele watched.

Later that afternoon, on returning home, Anacleti found out that his cousin had been murdered, and Manfredi blamed Aureliano Adami for the murder; Spadino reluctantly had to go along with his cousin's plan to kill and disfigure Aureliano. That same day, he met with Aureliano one-on-one, where Spadino asked if Aureliano had killed his cousin; Aureliano insinuated that he had, but he said that it had nothing to do with Spadino, and asked him not to let their families come between them. Aureliano then drove off, leaving Spadino conflicted. That night, Spadino spared Aureliano after confronting him, telling him to leave; Aureliano escaped in Marchilli's car.

Spadino went on to rekindle his relationship with Angelica after his brother told him that Angelica didn't want to marry him anymore; Spadino brought her to a fancy restaurant, where they barged in, sat down without a reservation, stole food and wine from other tables (causing Angelica to grin and laugh), and ran off when the head waiter decided to call the police. Angelica was attracted to Spadino's careless behavior, and she no longer bore hard feelings against him. That night, Spadino met up with Aureliano, and they rekindled their friendship after Aureliano showed gratitude for Spadino not killing him.

The next morning, Spadino and his clan discovered that Aureliano's father Tullio Adami had been murdered, and Manfredi told Spadino that everyone believed the Romani to be responsible, even though they weren't the murderers. That same day, Spadino was gifted his father's knife by his mother, who told him that, since that day was his wedding day, he would need to act like a man and act like a husband to Angelica, implying that Spadino would have to consummate his marriage with her. That night, Spadino was uninterested in consummation with his wife, and, when she said that she thought her first night with her husband would be more energetic, Spadino lashed out and simulated rough sex with her while repeatedly asking, "Like this?" He then drew his knife and cut his forearm, and he told Angelica that nobody could ever know that their marriage was unconsummated.

Aureliano then summoned Gabriele and Spadino to meet up with him on the beach at Ostia, where he said that they should pick up where they left off with "Friar F**k" and take over the Ostia beachfront for themselves, both the Adami clan's portion and the Church's portion. Aureliano said that each of them would be able to spit in the face of certain people: Adami at Samurai, Spadino at his brother, and Gabriele at whomever he wanted to get back at. He warned them that politicians, priests, and Samurai would come after them, but the three agreed to work together, each saying, "Totally."

Gabriele surprised Monaschi the next day by taking her to meet Adami and Anacleti, whom Monaschi recognized as the blackmailers of Theodosiou. Monaschi grew enraged that Gabriele had been in league with them all along, and she slapped him and attempted to leave, before Adami drew a gun. He demanded that she use her power to persuade Monsignor Theodosiou and the Vatican Bank to sell the Ostia beachfront property to them, and Gabriele attempted to persuade her that it would be the only way to keep the beachfront out of Samurai's hands. Monaschi initially refused, and, while Gabriele drove her home, she pulled the emergency brake and stormed out of the car after Gabriele said that both of them used people and discarded them once they were useless. However, Monaschi gave the offer some thought and persuaded her husband that they could give half of their near-bankrupt company's shares to the three young men in exchange for them warding off Samurai as Monaschi secured the beachfront property for her husband's company. Monaschi returned to the trio and told them that she would acquire the beachfront property for her husband's company, and that she would make the trio partners, with 50% of the shares; Anacleti negotiated an increase to 60% to make it easier to split among the three. Monaschi then warned the youngsters that Samurai also wanted the land, and Adami grew uneasy, saying that he believed that Monaschi wanted them to kill Samurai. Adami decided to renegotiate, demanding 75% of the company's shares, as well as Theodosiou's location, so that she would not sell out the trio to Samurai. Adami decided that Marchilli would go with Monaschi to sign the papers, while Adami and Anacleti would go to get the priest.

Adami and Anacleti then drove to the abbey outside Rome where Theodosiou was on a retreat, and Anacleti found out that the abbey closed at nine, and that six monks lived on the second floor of the abbey; when Adami asked how Anacleti knew that, Anacleti pointed to two homeless people sitting next to the abbey. The two men snuck into the abbey that night and chased Theodosiou to the top of the abbey's tower, where he locked himself behind a gate. The two men said that Sara sent them to collect the priest, so the priest said that he wanted to speak to Sara. Anacleti and Adami called Sara and Gabriele, and they enjoyed spaghetti made by Anacleti from the abbey's kitchen as Sara and Gabriele made their way to the abbey. Sara went alone to speak to the priest alone as the youngsters waited in the courtyard, but Theodosiou was unwilling to accompany Sara and instead let himself fall from the tower to his death as Sara screamed, "No!" The youngsters were shocked to look upon the priest's body, knowing that his death complicated their plans.