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Amerigo Dumini | |
|---|---|
 Amerigo Dumini | |
| Born | (1894-01-03)January 3, 1894 St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
| Died | December 25, 1967(1967-12-25) (aged 73) Rome, Italy |
| Nationality | American |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Allegiance | Fascist Italy |
| Conviction | Murder |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Details | |
| Victims | Giacomo Matteotti (aged 39) |
Amerigo Dumini (Italian pronunciation:[ameˈriːɡoˈduːmini]; January 3, 1894[1] – December 25, 1967) was an American-bornItalianfascist hitman who led the group responsible for the 1924assassination ofUnitary Socialist Party leaderGiacomo Matteotti.
Born inSt. Louis, United States, the son of Italian (fatherAdolfo Dumini) and British immigrants, Amerigo Dumini moved to Italy and in 1913 he joined thearmy renouncing his U.S. citizenship. During theFirst World War he was an assault trooper and was severely wounded and decorated. Then he became active in theFascio ofFlorence organized by supporters ofBenito Mussolini, taking pride in being referred to as "Sicario del Duce" ("Il Duce'shitman"). He participated in theSarzana incident on 21 July 1921, leading a column of 300 "squadristi" (Blackshirts) toSarzana with demands for the liberation ofRenato Ricci. Ricci and other fascists had been arrested following armed confrontation with theArditi del Popolo, an antifascist organization created in 1921 by the anarchistArgo Secondari as an offshoot of the "Arditi" movement.
In 1924 Dumini entered the ranks ofCeka, thesecret police which Mussolini based on theSovietCheka. Shortly thereafter, on 10 June, he headed the group (Albino Volpi, Giuseppe Viola, Augusto Malacria andAmleto Poveromo) that carried out the killing ofGiacomo Matteotti, possibly on the orders ofCesare Rossi, to whom he was assistant at the time. Following the political murder, he was abandoned by the fascist leadership, with the exception ofRoberto Farinacci, who defended him during his trial. While Farinacci declared himself "honored" by the task, he could not prevent Dumini from receiving a five-year prison sentence, of which he only served eleven months, benefiting from anamnesty ordered by Mussolini.[2]
Once out of jail, he tried his hand atblackmailing the fascist leadership, trying to obtain rewards and the payment of his legal fees. Ostentatiously, he sought a meeting with Mussolini at the Italian Council of Ministers. He justified his entitlement with the words "I am here in order to wash Matteotti's blood off my hands". Arrested, he was put on trial for "offending Il Duce" and sentenced to eight years in prison— substantially more than for the previous crime.
Freed in 1927, Amerigo Dumini left forItalian Somaliland, having been awarded a large statepension (5,000lire). Apparently, he was still viewed as troublesome, since he was detained and interned on theTremiti Islands. Meanwhile, he warned GeneralEmilio De Bono that he had filed amanuscript detailing Matteotti's murder withnotaries inTexas. This claim led to his release and an increase in pension to as much as 50,000 lire. He left forItalian Libya, where his pension was further increased by 2,500 lire (together with a single payment of 125,000 lire).
Dumini remained in the region for more than a decade and was captured by theBritish Army atDerna during theNorth African campaign ofWorld War II. Sentenced to death as aspy, he was hit by 17 bullets from a firing squad and still managed to remain alive, escaping to safety inTunisia during the night.[3] As Dumini returned to Italy, he was received with astonishment and offered yet another generous pension. He went into business as a transporter and bought a villa in a residential area ofFlorence.
With the 1943 fall of fascism in southern Italy, he joined theGerman-backedItalian Social Republic. After the Allied occupation of that region, Dumini was arrested inBologna and placed on trial for Matteotti's murder: the judgement stated that the order to kill Matteotti was given to him byMussolini.[4] He was given alife sentence, which was immediately commuted to 30 years due to theTogliatti amnesty. He was released under a further amnesty in 1953. In 1967, Dumini accidentally electrocuted himself while changing a lightbulb in his home. He died of a heart attack in a hospital nearly three weeks later.[5]
In the 1973 filmThe Assassination of Matteotti, byFlorestano Vancini, Dumini is played byUmberto Orsini.
In the 2025 TV showMussolini: Son of the Century, byJoe Wright, Dumini is played by Federico Majorana.
