Alberto Lais (Rome, 4 September 1882 – 7 December 1951) was an Italian admiral during World War II, naval attaché in Washington and member of the Servizio Informazioni Segrete.
From July to October 1938, after promotion to vice admiral, he briefly commanded the 4th and later the 6th Naval Division, after which he once again returned at the head of the SIS, planning and directing in 1939 Operation Rigoletto, the theft of secret codes from the French embassy in Rome.
Nonetheless, when the sabotage was discovered all crews were arrested, with captains being tried and sentenced to prison terms and the rest being interned in Fort Missoula, Montana, and Lais was declared persona non grata and expelled from the United States in April 1941.
[1][2][6][7][3][8][9] After returning to Italy, Lais briefly resumed service with the SIS, planning and supervising Operation "Pesca di beneficenza" ("Lucky dip"), the recovery of British codebooks and other secret documents from the wreck of the destroyer HMS Mohawk, sunk during the battle of the Tarigo Convoy.
Lais's son Lucio, also a naval officer, sued Hyde in 1966 for defamation against his deceased father; he won the trial and the publisher withdrew the book from the Italian market already before the sentence.