Chico Forti out of prison to volunteer. From his arrest in Miami to his return to Italy, here's who he is

After 27 years of imprisonment, between the United States and Italy, Chico Forti will be able to leave the Veronese prison of Montorio, where he is serving a life sentence. Forti, 66, was granted permission by the Supervisory Court of Venice to work outside prison, under Article 21 of the prison regulations, to attend a vocational training course for pizza makers, volunteer with the elderly and teach windsurfing to the disabled. His lawyers' application was accepted after a previous request for conditional release was rejected three months ago. Forti, from Trentino, born in 1959, a former windsurfing champion, will thus be able to cultivate one of his passions, teaching this sport to the disabled in a centre in Malcesine (Verona), on Lake Garda.

The court case in which he was involved is long and complex: after a big win on the quiz show Telemike, he had moved to Miami, Florida, in 1992, where he worked as a television producer. In 1998, he was arrested for the murder of Dale Pike, son of Anthony Pike, with whom he was negotiating the purchase of a hotel in Ibiza; the young man was found dead on a beach. Sentenced in 2000 to life imprisonment without parole, he has always maintained his innocence, believing himself to be the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

Prime Minister Meloni's welcome in Italy had been accompanied by political controversy, as had the interview conducted by Bruno Vespa a few days after her transfer to Verona prison. Then, in July last year, the Verona Public Prosecutor's Office had opened a file on Forti following the statements of a detainee, convicted for crimes linked to the 'ndrangheta, who had reported having overheard a conversation between a detainee and Forti in which the latter had allegedly asked - in exchange for favours - the Calabrian criminality to 'silence' Marco Travaglio, Selvaggia Lucarelli and Aldo Di Giacomo, secretary general of the Penitentiary Police union. Prosecutor Raffaele Tito had then opened a 'model 45' file, with no suspects or offences, delegating the investigation to the Carabinieri, which ended with a request for archiving. The news was confirmed by the Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio, replying to a parliamentary question by Avs MP Devis Dori.