Antonio Di Pietro (born Montenero di Bisaccia , Italy, October 2, 1950) is an Italian Senator and was a magistrate in the team of the so-called "Mani Pulite".

Born to a poor rural family of Molise, very young he went Germany to work as a waiter in a restaurant, to pay for his studies. He graduated in law and was admitted to serve in the Police as an officer. After a few years, he entered the judicial career as an prosecutor.

Together with other known judges like Francesco Saverio Borrelli , Ilda Boccassini , Gherardo Colombo , Piercamillo Davigo and others, he founded the Mani Pulite ("clean hands") team, which investigated on political corruption.

In this role, he put under investigation hundreds of local and national politicians, all the way up to the most important national political figures, among which Bettino Craxi; he is supposed to be the one who sent Silvio Berlusconi the famous "warning of investigation" (a formal act to inform a citizen that an investigation is being run about him) while the prime minister was heading an international meeting on police cooperation.

The investigation warning, or Avviso di garanzia in Italian (later formally reformed by the Parliament into the new name Invito a comparire), was in the years between 1992 and 1994 all but a guilt sentence to many Italians, who saw loathed politicians exposed by this procedure. While this was hardly a sign of respect of elementary rights as "Innocent until proven guilty", it must be remembered that the corruption had been so evident and blatant that even politicians were embarassed when they actually had to defend themselves from these charges. By the time's procedures, such a communication had to be sent to any person subject to investigation by three months since the beginning of the said investigation.

He soon became the most popular among Mani Pulite judges, due to his popular way of speaking, with a number of dialectal inflections and expressions, coupled with a sensible accent and a determined temper.

After the effects of the Mani Pulite investigations disbanded the previously ruling parties (first of all, Democrazia Cristiana), Di Pietro was called by Romano Prodi in his new governing team, as a minister for the Public Works, with competences on all what was primarily object of bribery (all the initiatives financed by the state). Here he tried to impose a controversial project which would have doubled the main national motorway between Bologna and Florence, causing a violent opposition by inhabitants of the interested areas, as well as the embarrassed protest of ecologists, who were politically sustaining Prodi's coalition but could not accept such a plan which would have destroyed splendid Apennine valleys and woods.

It was noted that Romano Prodi had previously been under investigation, run by Di Pietro himself, but had been discharged before any trial.

He later founded the Italia dei Valori (Italy of Values) party, which wanted to keep on fighting against political corruption in Italy. He did not run together with the left-wing coalition in the Italian elenctions of 2001, which were won by his arch-rival Silvio Berlusconi's coalition, as a protest against the mounting tolerance to corruption in most Italian political parties, and the condiscendent attitude of left-wing politicians, like Massimo D'Alema, towards Berlusconi. Di Pietro collected just short of the 4% necessary to enter the Lower Chamber of the Parliament in the proportional quote, and a single senator, who ironically immediately defected to Berlusconi's party.

He came under investigation himself in 1997 about his activities, both in the police and as a judge, but this was considered by most to be a political move. After years of trials, Di Pietro was eventually cleared of all charges.

Quotes

"Che c'azzecca?", "What's the point?" (Southern Italian vernacular, uttered live in a courthouse in front of millions of TV spectators).

"...Ma per l'amor di Dio sì o per l'amor di Dio no?", "... Do you mean for God's sake yes or for God's sake no?". Aggressively said to Umberto Bossi, leader of a populistic movement, when he tried to avoid answering directly to a question in the Milan courthouse about an illegal financing to his political movement for 200 millions lire by saying "For God's sake!" instead of a plain "yes" or "no"; Bossi was later found guilty.

"As a bricklayer I tried to build my walls straight, as a policeman I tried to arrest criminals, and as a judge I tried to bring people to trial when there was good reason to do so."

"I am no politician and I don't think I'll get into politics. But, could you exclude the possibility that one day you'll get dressed as a woman?" (Dec. 1995)

External link

• Italia dei Valori home page (Italian)
• Frasi celebri (unforgettable quotes) (in Italian)