Commander Alfa, founder of the Carabinieri’s GIS, has died
He took part in the arrest of Cesare Casella’s tax collectors and was responsible for the protection of the magistrate Nino Di Matteo
Commander Alfa, the Carabinieri officer originally from Castelvetrano and a veteran of the GIS, the force’s special unit, died on Sunday evening at the age of 75. The news was announced on his official Instagram profile. ‘It is with immense sadness,’ reads a post, ‘that we announce the passing of Commander Alfa. A special man has left us, a man who gave affection, values and memories that will remain forever in the hearts of those who were lucky enough to know him, and beyond.’
A lieutenant in the Carabinieri, this non-commissioned officer – whose identity has always remained a secret – was one of the founders of the GIS, the Carabinieri’s Special Intervention Group. He was considered the most highly decorated carabiniere in Italia. On 29 December 1980, he took part in the GIS operation to quell the riot at Trani prison.
He took part in various international missions and sensitive operations, such as the arrest of Cesare Casella’s debt collectors, the rescue of Patrizia Tacchella, and was responsible for the security detail for the anti-Mafia prosecutor Nino Di Matteo, in Palermo in 2003. In recent years, Alfa served as an instructor at the GIS and later at the UCIS, the Central Inter-force Office for Personal Security, ending his career in the Carabinieri in February 2016 and continuing his work as an instructor, public speaker and writer.
