None guilty of Calvi murder

An Italian jury acquitted all five defendants charged with the 1982 murder of financier Roberto Calvi, according to an Associated Press story published in the UK Guardian.

Calvi (left) had been known both as "God's banker" for his close ties to the Vatican.

Calvi's body was found hanging from London's Blackfriars Bridge with rocks and cash stuffed into his suit. The death was initially ruled a suicide, as it coincided closely with the scandalous collapse of Calvi's Banco Ambrosiano establishment. The collapse also involved the Vatican's own bank.

Italian prosecutors eventually charged Giuseppe "Pippo" Calo with ordering a hit on Calvi. Calo, known as the "Mafia's cashier" because of his money-laundering efforts, is currently serving a jail sentence for unrelated Mafia charges. Prosecutors theorized that Calvi and Calo partnered in money-laundering deals until Calo became convinced that Calvi was pocketing some funds.

Also charged were Flavio Carboni, Ernesto Diotallevi, Calvi's driver Silvano Vittor and Carboni's ex-girlfriend Manuela Kleinszig. Prosecutors abandoned their case against Kleinszig.

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• Charged with banker's murder, four face life in prison 03-08-07