Born in
Rome, Ortolani studied law and after the
Second World War became CEO of
Ducati. He was introduced by Cardinal
Giacomo Lercaro of Bologna into Vatican circles. Ortolani built on ecclesiastical friendships and on relations with the world of politics and industry, a solid launching pad, preferring, however, to remain out of the public eye (he gained the nickname "Mr. Nobody" for his discretion). While he was a
Freemason, as part of his business interests, he had holdings in the Italia media. He had been president of the
Italia news agency, sold to
Eni in 1965. Ortolani was also President of the National Institute of State Employees (INCIS), president of the Ente Terme and president of the World Federation of Italian Press Abroad. During the early 1970s, Ortolani built up relations with
Licio Gelli; he was registered with the
Propaganda Due masonic lodge in 1974. While Ortolani did have business interests in Italy, his most significant holdings were abroad, in
South America. At the time of his arrest by the
Guardia di Finanza in September 1983, he administered a bank (the "Bafisud", Banco Financiero Sudamericano), owned thirty large farms in
Uruguay, as well as a publishing house, three skyscrapers and thousands of cultivated hectares cultivated in
Argentina,
Paraguay and
Brazil. As the controversy surrounding the P2 lodge was coming to light, Ortolani was accused of being involved in its financial intrigues (from the "
Rizzoli case" to the fall of
Banco Ambrosiano). He became a fugitive, the subject of two international arrest warrants. He was also accused, then acquitted, of involvement in the
Bologna massacre. Ortolani had been a Brazilian citizen since 1978 and thus, when he fled to
São Paulo, the Brazilian government refused to either arrest him or deport him to Italy for trial. On 21 June 1989, Ortolani decided to return to Italy and was arrested by the
Guardia di Finanza at the
Malpensa Airport. After being locked up in a Milanese prison, he paid a 600 million lire bail fee and after a week was released. On 28 January 1994, Ortolani was sentenced to four years imprisonment for bankruptcy in the context of the management of Rizzoli, of which he had been a director. In 1996, in the trial against the P2 lodge, he was acquitted of the charge of political conspiracy against the powers of the state. In April 1998, the
Court of Cassation confirmed and made definitive the 12-year sentence for his involvement in the
Banco Ambrosiano affair. Ortolani, who lived in Rome, did not return to prison, because of his poor health. The Surveillance Court of Rome, in fact, suspended the execution of the sentence because of his illness. He died in Rome on 17 January 2002. In 1963,
Pope Paul VI granted him the title of
Papal chamberlain, but this title was revoked in 1983 by
Pope John Paul II. ==References==