Turning to news of the WEIRD today, kudos to the Italian Carabinieri, who after apparently at least a year of undercover investigation, made simultaneous raids in various locations in Sardinia and northern Italy and arrested thirty-four members of a criminal gang known as Anonima Sequestri. These persons were all charged with conspiracy...(wait for it)...to steal the corpse of Enzo Ferrari, the famed car maker. Further, this gang of (apparently talkative) criminals intended to hold Ferrari's corpse for ransom. This may sound, though grotesque, somewhat comical here, but across the sea in Italy I can assure you that the people are quite upset about this sinister plot, and rightly so. Ferrari is a much esteemed personage among the Italians, even these nearly three decades after his death.
The police believe that the Anonima Sequestri (under the leadership of currently jailed mafioso Graziano Mesina) have been making plans for this "kidnapping" for at least a year and a half, possibly longer. Members of the gang had worked out timetables for the crime, and even created a working model of the cemetery and tomb that holds Ferrari's corpse. The Ferrari family would no doubt have paid millions in ransom for the return of their relative's course. Fortunately the Italian national police foiled the operation and shut down at least this segment of Mesina's criminal gang.
Actually, the idea of holding the corpse of a famous person for ransom is not new. This part of American history has become somewhat obscure, perhaps overshadowed by the United States being involved in World War I, but President Lincoln's body was the target of a similar plot in the decades following his assassination, resulting in his casket being moved several times to avoid theft. Lincoln's corpse was finally able to "rest in peace" after the casket was entombed in the Oakridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois, under several tons of concrete for added protection.
Thanks to the Italian police for their good work in preventing Ferrari's theft. I am sure the Ferrari family will have to take affirmative steps to prevent the successful theft of Enzo Ferrari's body in the future. We may envy the lives of the rich and famous, but we commoners can usually rest assured that our final rest will be peaceful. I had always known that there were some drawbacks to being rich and famous, but I did not realize that even extended to the DEATHS of the rich and famous.
So that is today's News of The Weird.
The police believe that the Anonima Sequestri (under the leadership of currently jailed mafioso Graziano Mesina) have been making plans for this "kidnapping" for at least a year and a half, possibly longer. Members of the gang had worked out timetables for the crime, and even created a working model of the cemetery and tomb that holds Ferrari's corpse. The Ferrari family would no doubt have paid millions in ransom for the return of their relative's course. Fortunately the Italian national police foiled the operation and shut down at least this segment of Mesina's criminal gang.
Actually, the idea of holding the corpse of a famous person for ransom is not new. This part of American history has become somewhat obscure, perhaps overshadowed by the United States being involved in World War I, but President Lincoln's body was the target of a similar plot in the decades following his assassination, resulting in his casket being moved several times to avoid theft. Lincoln's corpse was finally able to "rest in peace" after the casket was entombed in the Oakridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois, under several tons of concrete for added protection.
Thanks to the Italian police for their good work in preventing Ferrari's theft. I am sure the Ferrari family will have to take affirmative steps to prevent the successful theft of Enzo Ferrari's body in the future. We may envy the lives of the rich and famous, but we commoners can usually rest assured that our final rest will be peaceful. I had always known that there were some drawbacks to being rich and famous, but I did not realize that even extended to the DEATHS of the rich and famous.
So that is today's News of The Weird.
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