Mystery Of Missing “Mussolini Treasure"

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28264, 30 April 1957, Page 13

Mystery Of Missing “Mussolini Treasure"

(Rec - 9-40 p. m .) PADUA (Italy), April 29. e mystery of a fabulous measure Mussolini tried to smuggle out of Italy the day he “V, 1945 Will come before a Padua Court today. r .easure was seized from Fascist dictator and his miners near Dongo, on the shores ht e Como ’ in April, 1945, as *° ee *° What happened to it is unknown.

*, i eas t seven persons who .J"! 50^e d the riddle were murdered.

Several others disappeared and murdered. trial «’ five Pisons will stand a 12 *year investigation tn tk h l r^ es raging from murder ?nn c e ‘ in Conne *ion with the disthe Dongo treasure. sence 66 Wlll ** tried ln tbeir ab "

is important defendant tisan ? te Gorreri « a war-time parmuni. eader ? nd a Post-war ComO’ Deput?es mber ° f the Chamber w^,.A arlia ' nenta ry immunity commit for t 0 aUow his EunjJ hcn ‘ eft lu 'ly ’or an East tried’b, R estln ation, and will be m absentia. The Dongo treasure, variously

valued between £1,725,000 and £6,325,000, included cases of gold ingots, gold sovereigns, jewellery, furs, foreign currencies and two priceless crowns seized from Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia at the time of the Abyssinian war. Mussolini made his ill-fated flight from Milan with his mistress, Claretta Petacci, and 50 diehard Fascists, on April 26, 1945, after the breakdown of surrendei negotiations with the partisans. A fugitive column of cars and trucks left Milan escorted by blackshirt militiamen. At Dongo the column was stopped by partisans, who captured Mussolini. Mussolini and his mistress were secretly executed as an Allied column with orders to take him alive raced to the scene.

But the treasure vanished. A small part, including Haile Selassie’s crowns, was later handed over to the Italian Government. More than 300 witnesses are due to testify before the Padua tribunal—but one important piece of evidence will be missing. Nearly 200 feet of film were shot by an amateur cameraman at Dongo on April 27, 28 and 29, as partisans filled suitcases with banknotes, and boxes with gold and furs.

The film was a faithful record of what took place—but it, too, has vanished. J