[4] Together with other well-known magistrates such as Francesco Saverio Borrelli, Ilda Boccassini, Gherardo Colombo, and Piercamillo Davigo, he worked on the Mani pulite ("Clean Hands") team, which investigated political corruption.

[6] He soon became the most popular of the Mani pulite judges due to his peculiar way of speaking, characterised by a pronounced Molisan accent and frequent use of vernacular expressions, and his resolute and straightforward attitude.

Only in 2012, Di Pietro admitted that Craxi was right when during the Enimont trial he accused the Italian Communist Party of having received illegal funding from the Soviet Union.

[4] Di Pietro was also known for being one of the first Italian prosecutors to use digital technologies in his work, using computers and visual presentations, which raised some protests (for example, by lawyer Guido Spazzali).

Once he uttered a famous sentence to describe his own behaviour: "As a bricklayer I tried to build my walls straight, as a policeman I tried to arrest criminals, and as a judge I tried to bring people to trial when there was good reason to do so".

[11] After the Mani pulite investigations resulted in the disbandment of the previous ruling parties (first of all, Christian Democracy), Di Pietro was called into Romano Prodi's new governing team as minister for Public Works,[4] with responsibility for the areas most affected by bribery—all the initiatives financed by the state.

After being cleared, Di Pietro started a political career, something he had previously excluded on the grounds that he did not want to exploit the popularity he had gained while doing what he perceived to be just his duty.

Di Pietro's movement collected just short of the nationwide four-percent limit necessary for entry to the Lower Chamber of the Parliament under proportional representation, and gained a single senator—who immediately defected to Berlusconi's party.

Di Pietro was one of seven candidates for leader of the left-wing coalition The Union for the general election held on 16 October 2005 — eventually won by Romano Prodi — in which he obtained 3.3 percent of the votes, ranking fourth.

[13] In late October 2012 Antonio Di Pietro came under examination in an inquiry by the Italian national television program "Report"[14] who questioned the alleged spending of IDV funds for personal use.