The daughter of notorious
mob boss Vittorio 'the pope' Casamonica has claimed her father
was "good, like Pope Francis".
"They called him pope because he was too good, like pope
Francis," Vera Casamonica told State broadcaster RAI on Tuesday.
Asked why his family plastered posters showing the dead
crime boss wearing a white robe with a cross around his neck on
church walls during his funeral, Vera said "he wasn't dressed
like the pope, he had blue trousers even if you couldn't see
them. Perhaps you have misinterpreted the image".
The grandiose funeral held during the summer with a
helicopter hovering overhead dropping rose petals on mourners
and a police escort outraged Italy but Vera said: "I would do
that funeral over again, also with the chopper and the petals".
"It was hardly our fault if the pilot flew over the centre
of Rome where he was not allowed? It was up to him to tell us it
was forbidden".
Asked why the music from the Godfather was played, she
said "my father liked that song and we only carried out his
wish".
Insisting that her father was "not a boss" she dismissed
Vespa's citing the criminal record of her father including
handling stolen goods and extortion.
"What other Casamonica's do in Rome doesn't interest me. I
can't be stuck with the crimes of other people," she said.
Several political parties, including Renzi's centre-left
PD, blasted RAI for giving a platform to Casamonica's family.
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