Italy's
``gentleman bandit,'' an affable anarchist who courteously robbed
banks in the 1960s and 1970s, has died in prison of a heart attack
on December 25 at the age of 62.
Horst Fantazzini conducted nonviolent stickups across northern
Italy, often using a toy gun according to some stories, and won
his nickname after sending roses to a bank teller who had fainted
during a robbery.
His not-so-gentlemanly 1973 jailbreak attempt was depicted in
a 1999 Italian movie called ``Outlaw'' by Enzo Monteleone. Fantazzini
wounded three guards and took two more hostages during the standoff.
He died Tuesday in prison in Dozza, a suburb outside of the northern
city of Bologna, after more than three decades in and out of jail
and various escape attempts, a prison official said.
He was enjoying ``semi-liberty,'' an alternative sentence which
allows model prisoners to spend part of their time outside of
jail, until last week when he was re-arrested while trying to
rob a Bologna bank and put back in prison full-time.
The ``gentleman bandit'' was born in Germany to an anarchist
father and became a prominent figure in the Italian anarchist
movement himself as well as a supporter of the ``Red Brigade''
extremist group that murdered former Prime Minister Aldo Moro.
(Agencies)
Updated: 2001-12-31 01:00
12月25日，当人们欢庆圣诞节的时候，凡塔齐尼在意大利北部城市博洛尼亚市郊的多扎监狱中因心脏病突发去世。一名监狱官员说，30多年来这位"绅士大盗"一直从监狱里"进进出出"，并尝试过多种越狱方式，但是最终还是没能逃出囹圄。