A jailed mafia hitman could face more charges after confessing to three more murders in his college thesis, according to EL PAÍS.
Catello Romano, who admitted in his honors thesis he murdered three other people, may face additional charges now that the prosecutor’s office obtained the document, EL PAÍS reported.
“Me llamo Catello Romano. Tengo 33 años y llevo casi la mitad de mi vida en prisión. Lo que sigue es mi historia criminal”. Así arranca la tesis con la que un sicario se ha licenciado con matrícula de honory que ha levantado una fuerte polémica en Italia https://t.co/8b13oCnuef
— EL PAÍS (@el_pais) January 7, 2024
“It is also my aim to contribute to understanding the criminal phenomenon and, therefore, to its possible prevention. I am convinced that words are important and this autoethnographic text aims to change the world around us,” Romano wrote in his thesis, according to the outlet.
Romano detailed his criminal history in the 170-page academic paper, which was written as he worked toward his sociology degree in the Calabrian prison of Catanzaro, the outlet reported. The 33-year-old prisoner of 14 years, who reportedly wrote he committed “horrendous crimes” and has been convicted of “several Camorra murders,” was transferred to a maximum-security prison in Padua after spending six years in the 41-bis penitentiary system.
The thesis delved into Romano’s experience with family, education, growing up, the breaking of families, isolation, drug abuse, violence and mafia activity, according to the outlet. The incarcerated hitman reportedly wrote of “the allure of crime” to young people facing difficult situations in his autobiographical study. (RELATED: Top Mafia Boss Finally Arrested After 30 Years As A Fugitive)
“Through this work, at least to some extent, I am carrying out a work of truth and reparation — I would not dare say justice — toward those who have been directly affected by my misguided actions,” Romano wrote in his thesis, the outlet reported.
Romano reportedly acknowledged his “recklessness,” admitting “foolishly, [I had a] mad desire to be somebody, to be seen and to be part of something bigger and more important, proving myself worthy through the cruelty and coldness of suppressing my fellow man.”