Difference between revisions of "Rocco Martino"
Tom Griffin (talk | contribs) m |
Tom Griffin (talk | contribs) (category:Italian Intelligence) |
||
| (8 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | Italian middleman involved in the distribution of forged documents purporting to show that Iraq had negotiated the sale of Yellowcake uranium from Niger.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article469945.ece Foreign Office and MI6 face new Iraq inquiry], by [[Nicholas Rufford]] and [[Nick Fielding]], [[The Sunday Times]], 15 August 2004.</ref> | + | Italian middleman involved in the distribution of forged documents purporting to show that Iraq had negotiated the sale of Yellowcake uranium from Niger.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article469945.ece Foreign Office and MI6 face new Iraq inquiry], by [[Nicholas Rufford]] and [[Nick Fielding]], [[The Sunday Times]], 15 August 2004.</ref> He has been the subject of competing allegations about which western intelligence agencies distributed the forgeries. |
| + | |||
| + | A number of press reports refer to Martino, suing his pseudonym, 'Giacomo'.<ref>[http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2006/07/yellowcake200607?currentPage=4The War They Wanted, The Lies They Needed], by Craig Unger, Vanity Fair, July 2006.</ref> | ||
==1999 Intelligence operation== | ==1999 Intelligence operation== | ||
::The [[DGSE]] began an intelligence operation to block Saddam from obtaining uranium, urging its agents to find out all they could about his efforts. One of those who got involved was [[Rocco Martino]], a former police officer who had worked for the Italian intelligence service between 1976 and 1985, when he was sacked for being a “chancer”. He tapped up contacts at the Niger embassy in Rome.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article587052.ece?token=null&offset=0 Spy story that has enmeshed Bush], by [[Michael Smith]], [[Sunday Times]], 6 November 2005.</ref> | ::The [[DGSE]] began an intelligence operation to block Saddam from obtaining uranium, urging its agents to find out all they could about his efforts. One of those who got involved was [[Rocco Martino]], a former police officer who had worked for the Italian intelligence service between 1976 and 1985, when he was sacked for being a “chancer”. He tapped up contacts at the Niger embassy in Rome.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article587052.ece?token=null&offset=0 Spy story that has enmeshed Bush], by [[Michael Smith]], [[Sunday Times]], 6 November 2005.</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[Alain Chouet]] of the DGSE denied the agency had any contact with Martino before 2002.<ref>[http://www.repubblica.it/2005/j/sezioni/esteri/nigergate/francia007/francia007.html Nigergate, lo 007 francese che smonta la tesi del Sismi], by Carlo Bonini and Guiseppe D'Avanzo, La Repubblica, 1 December 2005.</ref> | ||
==Forged documents== | ==Forged documents== | ||
| − | The story of the fake deal had begun with a meeting in a Rome bar in February 2000 set up by [[Antonio Nucera]], an officer in the [[SISMI|Sismi]], the Italian intelligence agency, between two of his former agents, [[Rocco Martino]] and [[Laura | + | The story of the fake deal had begun with a meeting in a Rome bar in February 2000 set up by [[Antonio Nucera]], an officer in the [[SISMI|Sismi]], the Italian intelligence agency, between two of his former agents, [[Rocco Martino]] and [[Laura Montini]]. |
| + | |||
| + | ::“I received a call from a former colleague in Sismi,” Giacomo said. “I was told a woman in the Niger embassy in Rome had a gift for me. I met her and she gave me documents. Sismi wanted me to pass on the documents but they didn’t want anyone to know they had been involved.”<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article464370.ece Italian spies ‘faked documents’ on Saddam nuclear purchase], by Nicholas Rufford, Sunday Times, 1 August 2004.</ref> | ||
::However, unknown to the Sismi, Martino, a former policeman turned spy, had been working for the French intelligence service, the [[DGSE]], since 1996. He was controlled by the [[DGSE]] head of station in Brussels, who paid him a retainer of between £1,050 and £1,400 a month. | ::However, unknown to the Sismi, Martino, a former policeman turned spy, had been working for the French intelligence service, the [[DGSE]], since 1996. He was controlled by the [[DGSE]] head of station in Brussels, who paid him a retainer of between £1,050 and £1,400 a month. | ||
| Line 11: | Line 17: | ||
::“Nucera asked if I was interested in meeting a person who worked in an African embassy and who had been able to supply [Nucera with] documents and information, including the embassy’s cipher,” Martino told an investigating magistrate during an Italian inquiry.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article703553.ece Forgers' of key Iraq war contract named], by [[Michael Smith]], [[Sunday Times]], 9 April 2006.</ref> | ::“Nucera asked if I was interested in meeting a person who worked in an African embassy and who had been able to supply [Nucera with] documents and information, including the embassy’s cipher,” Martino told an investigating magistrate during an Italian inquiry.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article703553.ece Forgers' of key Iraq war contract named], by [[Michael Smith]], [[Sunday Times]], 9 April 2006.</ref> | ||
| − | In the spring of 2000, Montini reportedly handed Martino a document related to a visit to Niger by the Iraqi ambassador to the [[Vatican]], [[Wissam al-Zahawie]]. Martino passed the document to the [[DGSE]]. After the French asked for more information, Martino asked Montini if she could get a copy of a contract for Niger to supply Iraq with uranium. According to [[Michael Smith]], NATO sources allege that Montini forged the contract with the consul at the Niger embassy,[[Adam Maiga Zakariaou]]. | + | In the spring of 2000, Montini reportedly handed Martino a document related to a visit to Niger by the Iraqi ambassador to the [[Vatican]], [[Wissam al-Zahawie]]. Martino passed the document to the [[DGSE]]. After the French asked for more information, Martino asked Montini if she could get a copy of a contract for Niger to supply Iraq with uranium. According to [[Michael Smith]], [[NATO]] sources allege that Montini forged the contract with the consul at the Niger embassy,[[Adam Maiga Zakariaou]]. |
::Martino then re-entered the picture. In October 2002 he presented the [[DGSE]] with documents which appeared to show that Niger had signed a deal in July 2000 to supply Iraq with yellowcake — similar to the story Italian intelligence had told the [[CIA]]. The [[DGSE]] rejected the documents as fake. | ::Martino then re-entered the picture. In October 2002 he presented the [[DGSE]] with documents which appeared to show that Niger had signed a deal in July 2000 to supply Iraq with yellowcake — similar to the story Italian intelligence had told the [[CIA]]. The [[DGSE]] rejected the documents as fake. | ||
| − | ::Martino offered them for €15,000 to a journalist working on [[Panorama]], the Italian magazine, who took them to the US embassy in Rome for authentication. Copies were sent to Washington. yellowcake.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article587052.ece?token=null&offset=0 Spy story that has enmeshed Bush], by [[Michael Smith]], [[Sunday Times]], 6 November 2005.</ref> | + | ::Martino offered them for €15,000 to a journalist working on [[Panorama]], the Italian magazine, who took them to the US embassy in Rome for authentication. Copies were sent to Washington. yellowcake.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article587052.ece?token=null&offset=0 Spy story that has enmeshed Bush], by [[Michael Smith]], [[Sunday Times]], 6 November 2005.</ref> |
==Affiliations== | ==Affiliations== | ||
*[[DGSE]] | *[[DGSE]] | ||
| + | *[[SISMI]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==External Resources== | ||
| + | *[http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/entity.jsp?entity=rocco_martino Profile Rocco Martino], Cooperative Research History Commons. | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
| − | [[Category:spooks|Martino, Rocco]] | + | [[Category:spooks|Martino, Rocco]][[Category:Iraq War 2003|Martino, Rocco]][[Category:Propaganda|Martino, Rocco]][[Category:Italian Intelligence|Martino, Rocco]] |
Latest revision as of 23:23, 27 September 2009
Italian middleman involved in the distribution of forged documents purporting to show that Iraq had negotiated the sale of Yellowcake uranium from Niger.[1] He has been the subject of competing allegations about which western intelligence agencies distributed the forgeries.
A number of press reports refer to Martino, suing his pseudonym, 'Giacomo'.[2]
Contents
1999 Intelligence operation
- The DGSE began an intelligence operation to block Saddam from obtaining uranium, urging its agents to find out all they could about his efforts. One of those who got involved was Rocco Martino, a former police officer who had worked for the Italian intelligence service between 1976 and 1985, when he was sacked for being a “chancer”. He tapped up contacts at the Niger embassy in Rome.[3]
Alain Chouet of the DGSE denied the agency had any contact with Martino before 2002.[4]
Forged documents
The story of the fake deal had begun with a meeting in a Rome bar in February 2000 set up by Antonio Nucera, an officer in the Sismi, the Italian intelligence agency, between two of his former agents, Rocco Martino and Laura Montini.
- “I received a call from a former colleague in Sismi,” Giacomo said. “I was told a woman in the Niger embassy in Rome had a gift for me. I met her and she gave me documents. Sismi wanted me to pass on the documents but they didn’t want anyone to know they had been involved.”[5]
- “Nucera asked if I was interested in meeting a person who worked in an African embassy and who had been able to supply [Nucera with] documents and information, including the embassy’s cipher,” Martino told an investigating magistrate during an Italian inquiry.[6]
In the spring of 2000, Montini reportedly handed Martino a document related to a visit to Niger by the Iraqi ambassador to the Vatican, Wissam al-Zahawie. Martino passed the document to the DGSE. After the French asked for more information, Martino asked Montini if she could get a copy of a contract for Niger to supply Iraq with uranium. According to Michael Smith, NATO sources allege that Montini forged the contract with the consul at the Niger embassy,Adam Maiga Zakariaou.
Affiliations
External Resources
- Profile Rocco Martino, Cooperative Research History Commons.
References
- ↑ Foreign Office and MI6 face new Iraq inquiry, by Nicholas Rufford and Nick Fielding, The Sunday Times, 15 August 2004.
- ↑ War They Wanted, The Lies They Needed, by Craig Unger, Vanity Fair, July 2006.
- ↑ Spy story that has enmeshed Bush, by Michael Smith, Sunday Times, 6 November 2005.
- ↑ Nigergate, lo 007 francese che smonta la tesi del Sismi, by Carlo Bonini and Guiseppe D'Avanzo, La Repubblica, 1 December 2005.
- ↑ Italian spies ‘faked documents’ on Saddam nuclear purchase, by Nicholas Rufford, Sunday Times, 1 August 2004.
- ↑ Forgers' of key Iraq war contract named, by Michael Smith, Sunday Times, 9 April 2006.
- ↑ Spy story that has enmeshed Bush, by Michael Smith, Sunday Times, 6 November 2005.
