Editing Michele Sindona (section)

==Michele Sindona==
Michele Sindona (1920–1986) was an Italian financier and convicted fraudster whose career epitomized the nexus of banking, organized crime, and political intrigue during the Cold War. Born in Patti, Sicily, Sindona studied law and rose as a financial advisor, acquiring banks like Banca Privata Italiana and Franklin National Bank in New York. Known as “the Shark,” he cultivated ties with the Sicilian Mafia, the Vatican, and the [[Propaganda Due P2]] Masonic lodge, becoming a key player in international finance. Sindona’s banks laundered Mafia money and funded anti-communist causes, possibly linked to [[Operation Gladio]], while his close relationship with the Vatican Bank under [[Paul Marcinkus]] earned him influence in Catholic circles.

In 1974, Franklin National Bank collapsed, exposing $2 billion in fraudulent transactions, leading to Sindona’s conviction for fraud in the U.S. In Italy, his Banca Privata failed, revealing illicit dealings with the Vatican and P2. Convicted in 1980 for ordering the murder of [[Giorgio Ambrosoli]], who investigated his Italian banks, Sindona was sentenced to life. In 1986, days after receiving a 12-year sentence for the Banco Ambrosiano scandal, he died in prison from cyanide poisoning, officially ruled a suicide but widely suspected as murder. Sindona’s legacy reflects the dark interplay of finance, crime, and covert politics.