Massimo Carminati (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmassimo karmiˈnaːti]; born 31 May 1958), referred by the press as one of "the kings of Rome",[1] and in the context of the onset of the "Mafia Capitale" investigation nicknamed as il Cecato ("The Blinded One"), is an Italian underworld figure and former member of far-right terrorist group Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari and criminal gang Banda della Magliana, which were at the centre of sensational allegations of state collusion and Masonic conspiracy during Italy's Years of Lead.
[2] After Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari and Banda della Magliana ceased to exist through arrests and violent death, Carminati managed to emerge as a figure in his own right.
[1] A clandestine weapons store of the Banda della Magliana was kept in the basement of a government building, it was later found to contain grenades stolen by NAR leader Valerio Fioravanti.
The case was circumstantial and based on the word of Mafia turncoat Tommaso Buscetta who had not originally mentioned the allegation about Andreotti when interviewed by Giovanni Falcone.
Police reportedly suspect the deposit boxes contained compromising material that Carminati used to compile dossiers on a number of high officials.
[21] Carminati is the basis of the character of "Il Nero" in the book Romanzo Criminale, written in 2002 by Giancarlo De Cataldo and referring to the true events of the Banda della Magliana, the Romanzo Criminale film directed by Michele Placido in 2005 based on the same novel, ("Il Nero" is played by Riccardo Scamarcio), as well as the television series directed by Stefano Sollima and Emiliano Coltorti.
[22] He also inspired the character of Samurai in the book Suburra by Giancarlo De Cataldo and Carlo Bonini, from which the 2015 film Suburra by Stefano Sollima was made, in which Samurai is played by Claudio Amendola; the book was also followed by the television series directed by Michele Placido, Andrea Molaioli and Giuseppe Capotondi, in which the character is played by Francesco Acquaroli.