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The Vatican Connection: The True Story of a Billion-dollar Conspiracy Between the Catholic Church and the Mafia
It started with a hunch. It uncovered a billion-dollar crime. And it led one honest cop too far to ever go back.
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First published January 1, 1982
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
July 29, 2016
I love Mafia books, especially true crime ones. This was the fascinating tale of Det. Joseph Coffey tireless effort to bring down the mob and the men who were laundering millions of dollars worth of phony securities. A conspiracy that stretched to D.C, Rome and the Vatican.
Even though you get a TON of names and information thrown at you (which was confusing at times) I still found this to be a really enjoyable read. It's well written and well paced.
4 Solid Stars from yours truly...
October 8, 2015
Fascinating documentation of corruption in the highest circles, but left me feeling thatt nothing was resolved, nothing changed and all the hard work was a waste of time.
Got vey bogged down with detail.
Got vey bogged down with detail.
February 1, 2018
Author Richard Hammer's point, stated near his ending, is: "There are people so powerful and so highly placed that they are impervious to the law, and that society’s rules and codes do not apply to them."
Henry II of England would have felt a serious deja vu, with the 1972 Catholic Church protecting its racketeering officials. Nixon's government also protected them. However, in this case, the Church felt the need to cover-up the misdeeds of the malfeasant archbishops and cardinals, instead of leaving them blatantly in view; and eventually a later pope felt he had had enough of the shady deals and defrocked the main offender who was still alive. So some progress has been made in the intervening centuries.
Meanwhile, we have here the story of a tangled Mafia investigation, and some very nasty American mob characters. It's good that these published exposes can be part of society's justice.
Henry II of England would have felt a serious deja vu, with the 1972 Catholic Church protecting its racketeering officials. Nixon's government also protected them. However, in this case, the Church felt the need to cover-up the misdeeds of the malfeasant archbishops and cardinals, instead of leaving them blatantly in view; and eventually a later pope felt he had had enough of the shady deals and defrocked the main offender who was still alive. So some progress has been made in the intervening centuries.
Meanwhile, we have here the story of a tangled Mafia investigation, and some very nasty American mob characters. It's good that these published exposes can be part of society's justice.
December 17, 2019
Meticulously researched nonfiction account of fraudulent security deals by the mob, involving diverse players including knowing participants from within the Vatican.
The cast of characters is at times dizzying, and the story unfolds chronologically, often with details presented before later evidence and analysis would clarify their meaning. On the one hand, it was interesting for the reader to see the same puzzling array of evidence that the detectives saw at the time the information was being presented -- out of context from the entire criminal plot. On the other hand, this made understanding the significance of the events difficult to follow.
The cast of characters is at times dizzying, and the story unfolds chronologically, often with details presented before later evidence and analysis would clarify their meaning. On the one hand, it was interesting for the reader to see the same puzzling array of evidence that the detectives saw at the time the information was being presented -- out of context from the entire criminal plot. On the other hand, this made understanding the significance of the events difficult to follow.
May 20, 2018
I rated this a four star book mainly in admiration for the extensive research and the skill in weaving a multitude of facts into a cohesive narrative. This is bàsically the saga of an intuitive New York City cop who slowly unravels the Mafia 's far flung scheme to acquire wealth through the manufacture and trading of counterfeit stocks and bonds as well as through dealing with stolen stock certificate s.
As Detective Coffey moves deeper into the underworld, he encounters a slew of not exactly attractive characters making complicated, somewhat ingenuous plans for personal and Mob financial coups. Munich, his first overseas investigative stop, open yields for Coffey and his interagency partners a treasure trove of info from a wiretap of an important meeting. It is here the book bogs down as the conversation is riddled with obscure references to characters not present and mysterious financial finagling.
Although Coffey's investigation produces numerous convictions and jail terms, avoided by many who provided the government with vital pieces of the puzzle, the investigation into the very real Vatican connection to shady financial dealings is aborted by high placed witnesses who wouldn't answer questions with any degree of candor and the unwillingness of high levels of government. to get involved, due to the concurrent opening of the Watergate sinkhole.
It is ironic that Coffey and his FBI counterpart, were both devout Catholics, stunned by what they found but yet willing to pursue the case to its conclusion. It was political not legal roadblocks that caused them to back off with the sad lesson that some people think they are above the law--and get away with it!
Not exactly an entertaining read but a highly informative one.
As Detective Coffey moves deeper into the underworld, he encounters a slew of not exactly attractive characters making complicated, somewhat ingenuous plans for personal and Mob financial coups. Munich, his first overseas investigative stop, open yields for Coffey and his interagency partners a treasure trove of info from a wiretap of an important meeting. It is here the book bogs down as the conversation is riddled with obscure references to characters not present and mysterious financial finagling.
Although Coffey's investigation produces numerous convictions and jail terms, avoided by many who provided the government with vital pieces of the puzzle, the investigation into the very real Vatican connection to shady financial dealings is aborted by high placed witnesses who wouldn't answer questions with any degree of candor and the unwillingness of high levels of government. to get involved, due to the concurrent opening of the Watergate sinkhole.
It is ironic that Coffey and his FBI counterpart, were both devout Catholics, stunned by what they found but yet willing to pursue the case to its conclusion. It was political not legal roadblocks that caused them to back off with the sad lesson that some people think they are above the law--and get away with it!
Not exactly an entertaining read but a highly informative one.
June 8, 2025
This book discusses Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, president of the Vatican Bank, and his relationship with Matteo de Lorenzo of the Genovese Family. The two were involved in discussions about laundering money for a security scam they were running. Police were aware of the situation and were hot on the trail. The investigation into these people and their associates is outlined in this book. I thought the book was really interesting. I enjoy crime books to begin with, but I do have a deep interest in organized crime. I bought this book during an Audible sale, and I am thoroughly pleased with the purchase.
The Catholic Church has found itself in a series of disgraceful events and coverups. The Catholic Church has funded cultural genocide, genocide, religious suppression, the Nazi Party, other undesirable characters and who even knows what else. They have covered up sexual abuse. They have been exceptionally racist. The fact that they would become involved in some type of conspiracy with members involved in organized crime is not at all shocking, as they are also an organized criminal enterprise. (If you happen to be a member of the Catholic community and are reading this clutching your pearls.... sorry not sorry.) Certainly, there are normal functioning people that do not get up to shenanigans and nonsense, but, historically, that is what the leadership of this cultish organization does.
The Catholic Church has found itself in a series of disgraceful events and coverups. The Catholic Church has funded cultural genocide, genocide, religious suppression, the Nazi Party, other undesirable characters and who even knows what else. They have covered up sexual abuse. They have been exceptionally racist. The fact that they would become involved in some type of conspiracy with members involved in organized crime is not at all shocking, as they are also an organized criminal enterprise. (If you happen to be a member of the Catholic community and are reading this clutching your pearls.... sorry not sorry.) Certainly, there are normal functioning people that do not get up to shenanigans and nonsense, but, historically, that is what the leadership of this cultish organization does.
December 13, 2025
WAS THE VATICAN INVOLVED WITH THE MAFIA IN DEALING STOLEN/FORGED SECURITIES FROM 1971-1973?
Richard Hammer said in the "Author's Note" of this 1982 book, "The events described in this book are true and the characters are real. Except for certain interpretations and conclusions, which are the author's responsibility alone, the story is based on the recollections, files and records of Detective Sergeant Joseph J. Coffey, Jr., commanding officer of the Organized Crime Homicide Task Force and special assistant for organized crime affairs to the Chief of Detectives of the New York City Police Department. It also relies heavily on wiretaps and electronic surveillance done under court order ... Those conversations that have been re-created are either taken directly from transcripts of legal wiretaps and electronic eavesdropping devices or are based on the recollections of one or more of the participants in them."
He wrote, "How much money was involved? There was no way Coffey could calculate that, but it certainly ran way up in the millions. There had been references several times to $900,000 and that was only one deal. There had been talk of $100,000 here and another $100,000 there, and several hundred thousand someplace else. There was no way of putting a figure on the counterfeits that had been discussed. There had been at least three stolen United States Treasury certificates ... There was a lot of stolen stock... There were counterfeit securities that were supposed to have gone, may actually have gone, might still be going, to the Vatican." (Pg. 88)
He observes, "What the investigators thirsted to hear was more about the flow of hot securities in and out of the United States, about the transaction in the Vatican that had been mentioned for the first time ... about all the other deals that lay at the real center of this hunt. But the Vatican was never mentioned, and conversations about securities were inevitably guarded and elliptical so that those who heard them had to have some prior knowledge, had to know how to strip away the covering." (Pg. 121)
He says, "[Leopold Ledl] did not at first suspect that those venerated church leaders valued him for anything more than his pleasant company and his ability to tell an amusing story. He did not even think it when Cardinal Tisserant... began to tell him sorrowful stories of the declining state of the Vatican's treasury, of how Bishop Marcinkus had made a series of ill-considered investments that had cost the church untold millions of dollars at a time when there was such a drain of the Vatican treasury, what with the need to support the foreign missions and the commitment to shore up the stagnating Italian economy, the shaky banking structure, and collapsing lira and so save the church-supported Christian Democratic government." (Pg. 196)
He adds, "They all agreed that the American government would never accuse the Vatican of knowingly dealing in counterfeit stocks and bonds. In fact, if it was discovered that such paper existed in the Vatican, the United States would undoubtedly believe the church had been taken in by some unscrupulous swindlers and so would secretly step in and make good the losses." (Pg. 197)
He admits, "Even after Rizzo's phones were tapped... there was not once a mention or an implication of that staggering arrangement in Rome... The Vatican did not concern him, did not even seem to interest him... I fact, the only calls about the Vatican that were ever made from the United States or anywhere were ... all with the same message: Do not talk about the Vatican deal with anyone... Do not talk to anyone about the Vatican, ever." (Pg. 244)
He states, "Coffey and Tamarro... had not known ... who in the Vatican was involved... Now they had that. For two devout Catholics, raised to believe in the sanctity and unimpeachable honesty of the leaders of their church, this was an unsettling discovery... They had come upon men of great power and influence... these were men of the cloth whose reason for being was supposed to be the betterment of man and the church. Now Coffey was confronted with evidence that some of these men had committed grave crimes. It was nearly unthinkable... I
"If they should follow the trail now, directly into the heart of the Vatican, uncover and reveal to the world the crimes of the revered leaders of their church, the damage they would do to the church itself was likely to be great, to be immeasurably wounding... They knew they had a choice. They could ignore the role the Vatican had played, the role of those leaders of the church who had been part of the scheme. No matter how much evidence they managed to gather, they knew there was little chance that they would be able to bring a cardinal or a bishop or a monsignor from Rome, from the Vatican, to stand trial in New York.
"What would it profit them, then, to stir up a scandal that exposed as criminals some of the men who helped direct the Vatican? What profit except to do harm to their church? Would it not be better to concentrate on what they had, to gather the evidence that would be used to convict Rizzo and the others in the organized American underworld and forget about the rest?" (Pg. 261)
He points out, "the president's own position [was] becoming increasingly tenuous. Nixon was looking for support to shore him up wherever he could find it. And among those who backed him most strongly were the nation's Catholics. He was not about to do anything that might alienate them when he most desperately needed their unquestioning allegiance. There was little doubt that an airing of charges against high Vatican prelates... would cause a serious reaction in the Catholic community." (Pg. 272)
The ultimate testimony to a Senate subcommittee was, “As a result of our visit and a result of the cooperation of the Vatican, we were able to conclude that there was no substance to the allegation that anyone within the Vatican was culpably involved in this scheme.” (Pg. 279)
More innuendo and speculation than actual "evidence"; someone interested in this affair will find this book interesting.
Richard Hammer said in the "Author's Note" of this 1982 book, "The events described in this book are true and the characters are real. Except for certain interpretations and conclusions, which are the author's responsibility alone, the story is based on the recollections, files and records of Detective Sergeant Joseph J. Coffey, Jr., commanding officer of the Organized Crime Homicide Task Force and special assistant for organized crime affairs to the Chief of Detectives of the New York City Police Department. It also relies heavily on wiretaps and electronic surveillance done under court order ... Those conversations that have been re-created are either taken directly from transcripts of legal wiretaps and electronic eavesdropping devices or are based on the recollections of one or more of the participants in them."
He wrote, "How much money was involved? There was no way Coffey could calculate that, but it certainly ran way up in the millions. There had been references several times to $900,000 and that was only one deal. There had been talk of $100,000 here and another $100,000 there, and several hundred thousand someplace else. There was no way of putting a figure on the counterfeits that had been discussed. There had been at least three stolen United States Treasury certificates ... There was a lot of stolen stock... There were counterfeit securities that were supposed to have gone, may actually have gone, might still be going, to the Vatican." (Pg. 88)
He observes, "What the investigators thirsted to hear was more about the flow of hot securities in and out of the United States, about the transaction in the Vatican that had been mentioned for the first time ... about all the other deals that lay at the real center of this hunt. But the Vatican was never mentioned, and conversations about securities were inevitably guarded and elliptical so that those who heard them had to have some prior knowledge, had to know how to strip away the covering." (Pg. 121)
He says, "[Leopold Ledl] did not at first suspect that those venerated church leaders valued him for anything more than his pleasant company and his ability to tell an amusing story. He did not even think it when Cardinal Tisserant... began to tell him sorrowful stories of the declining state of the Vatican's treasury, of how Bishop Marcinkus had made a series of ill-considered investments that had cost the church untold millions of dollars at a time when there was such a drain of the Vatican treasury, what with the need to support the foreign missions and the commitment to shore up the stagnating Italian economy, the shaky banking structure, and collapsing lira and so save the church-supported Christian Democratic government." (Pg. 196)
He adds, "They all agreed that the American government would never accuse the Vatican of knowingly dealing in counterfeit stocks and bonds. In fact, if it was discovered that such paper existed in the Vatican, the United States would undoubtedly believe the church had been taken in by some unscrupulous swindlers and so would secretly step in and make good the losses." (Pg. 197)
He admits, "Even after Rizzo's phones were tapped... there was not once a mention or an implication of that staggering arrangement in Rome... The Vatican did not concern him, did not even seem to interest him... I fact, the only calls about the Vatican that were ever made from the United States or anywhere were ... all with the same message: Do not talk about the Vatican deal with anyone... Do not talk to anyone about the Vatican, ever." (Pg. 244)
He states, "Coffey and Tamarro... had not known ... who in the Vatican was involved... Now they had that. For two devout Catholics, raised to believe in the sanctity and unimpeachable honesty of the leaders of their church, this was an unsettling discovery... They had come upon men of great power and influence... these were men of the cloth whose reason for being was supposed to be the betterment of man and the church. Now Coffey was confronted with evidence that some of these men had committed grave crimes. It was nearly unthinkable... I
"If they should follow the trail now, directly into the heart of the Vatican, uncover and reveal to the world the crimes of the revered leaders of their church, the damage they would do to the church itself was likely to be great, to be immeasurably wounding... They knew they had a choice. They could ignore the role the Vatican had played, the role of those leaders of the church who had been part of the scheme. No matter how much evidence they managed to gather, they knew there was little chance that they would be able to bring a cardinal or a bishop or a monsignor from Rome, from the Vatican, to stand trial in New York.
"What would it profit them, then, to stir up a scandal that exposed as criminals some of the men who helped direct the Vatican? What profit except to do harm to their church? Would it not be better to concentrate on what they had, to gather the evidence that would be used to convict Rizzo and the others in the organized American underworld and forget about the rest?" (Pg. 261)
He points out, "the president's own position [was] becoming increasingly tenuous. Nixon was looking for support to shore him up wherever he could find it. And among those who backed him most strongly were the nation's Catholics. He was not about to do anything that might alienate them when he most desperately needed their unquestioning allegiance. There was little doubt that an airing of charges against high Vatican prelates... would cause a serious reaction in the Catholic community." (Pg. 272)
The ultimate testimony to a Senate subcommittee was, “As a result of our visit and a result of the cooperation of the Vatican, we were able to conclude that there was no substance to the allegation that anyone within the Vatican was culpably involved in this scheme.” (Pg. 279)
More innuendo and speculation than actual "evidence"; someone interested in this affair will find this book interesting.
January 22, 2025
Fascinating subject that is fairly contemporary - 70's - with names that many of us remember or recognize. The book documents the huge investigative work done with state and federal law enforcement plus European country law offices. The crimes were many and generally white collar but you can't have billions at stake without murder & extortion. I have to admit that I skimmed over many many pages of detailed names, places and situations that I knew I wouldn't be able to relate to so I skimmed it and then moved on to the parts that were easier to understand and relate to. A sad outcome was how meaningless many of the jail terms were for these criminals. A sadder outcome was the number of very high up politicians, crime lords, religious leaders, etc. that never faced so much as a tough interrogation because Lady Law's blindfold is transparent and there are many who are truly above the law. Beware!
April 10, 2019
Questionable book
I did enjoy the book until the Vatican part. I think there were too many questionable accusations about the Vatican that did not fit the rest of the book. Lots of detail in the first three quarters f the book and then it seemed a rush to get it published with a fancy title. Also the last page was totally out of context. Finish the book with a real ending! Not that one!
I did enjoy the book until the Vatican part. I think there were too many questionable accusations about the Vatican that did not fit the rest of the book. Lots of detail in the first three quarters f the book and then it seemed a rush to get it published with a fancy title. Also the last page was totally out of context. Finish the book with a real ending! Not that one!
November 1, 2021
Well researched.
Fascinating true story of how organized crime spread its wings in more contemporary times. It's not common knowledge the world-wide reach the mafia had in the early 70s. Apparently well before that.
Shocking (well, not too shocking since Godfather 3. I always took that with a grain of truth.)) request from Vatican banking.
Dedicated investigators faced daunting roads, amid foresight and luck, makes for a great story.
Fascinating true story of how organized crime spread its wings in more contemporary times. It's not common knowledge the world-wide reach the mafia had in the early 70s. Apparently well before that.
Shocking (well, not too shocking since Godfather 3. I always took that with a grain of truth.)) request from Vatican banking.
Dedicated investigators faced daunting roads, amid foresight and luck, makes for a great story.
May 29, 2017
Gave up on it
Starts out interesting and then launches into exhaustive character descriptions and backgrounds of the players. Skilled authors introduce characters while telling the story, keeping the reader interested. I'm sorry I paid for it.
Starts out interesting and then launches into exhaustive character descriptions and backgrounds of the players. Skilled authors introduce characters while telling the story, keeping the reader interested. I'm sorry I paid for it.
January 31, 2018
Mob and ,.,money
Book was great from beginning to the end. Enough curves for all who like true crime's. Enjoyed it all. Read.
Book was great from beginning to the end. Enough curves for all who like true crime's. Enjoyed it all. Read.
February 5, 2020
I just could not get into this book. I couldn't keep characters straight. Sadly, I had to abandon it.
May 14, 2020
I found this to be very heavy reading. Although quite interested in the subject, I just couldn't get into this book. I had to quit trying to read it, which is something which I rarely do.
February 21, 2021
Not everyone are gods chosen people
April 7, 2022
DNF. Horrible writing; hard to follow with all the characters. Too slow.
April 10, 2023
Fascinating
Excellent work here. Crazy how much of this is documented and still, no consequences. I would fully recommend this for true crime aficionados.
Excellent work here. Crazy how much of this is documented and still, no consequences. I would fully recommend this for true crime aficionados.
January 14, 2025
Interesting topic but moderately dry when written up. Plenty of wiretap action, international thefts and forgeries, billions of dollars in scams.
August 26, 2016
Review originally posted at Book of Bogan
I received a review copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Originally published some 30 years ago, The Vatican Connection is the true story of a detective's long hunt for the truth in a case involving some serious Mafia figures. Not only does he have to compete with dangerous mobsters, but he has to battle against a bureaucracy which seems unwilling or unable to share his zeal for the investigation.
Perhaps it is a case of poor timing on my part, but I recently finished another book called God's Bankers which covers some of the same territory, or at least some of the personalities. That book also has the advantage of being written more recently, with the benefit of hindsight, and more information.rely on.I guess coming from that standard, I was somewhat confused by The Vatican Connection, as it seemed to spend a long time getting to the point. I recall one mention early on of the Vatican, but about 2/3rds of the book is dedicated entirely to the tracking, and surveillance of the Mafia figures.
I guess I was expecting more of a connection to be drawn between the prime players behind the scenes, rather than a purely chronological retelling, which left me feeling a little like I was missing half of the story. The first 2/3rds of the book are, however, well-written, and felt like a gritty police procedural novel, rather than actual non-fiction, so from that point of view, the book is eminently readable. What drew me to the book was the promise of a Billion Dollar conspiracy, and because there was a lack of cohesion between the players in the conspiracy, I found it hard to follow, or see what the overall point was.
I think it's a book of its time, an interesting read, but did not live up to its promise.
I received a review copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Originally published some 30 years ago, The Vatican Connection is the true story of a detective's long hunt for the truth in a case involving some serious Mafia figures. Not only does he have to compete with dangerous mobsters, but he has to battle against a bureaucracy which seems unwilling or unable to share his zeal for the investigation.
Perhaps it is a case of poor timing on my part, but I recently finished another book called God's Bankers which covers some of the same territory, or at least some of the personalities. That book also has the advantage of being written more recently, with the benefit of hindsight, and more information.rely on.I guess coming from that standard, I was somewhat confused by The Vatican Connection, as it seemed to spend a long time getting to the point. I recall one mention early on of the Vatican, but about 2/3rds of the book is dedicated entirely to the tracking, and surveillance of the Mafia figures.
I guess I was expecting more of a connection to be drawn between the prime players behind the scenes, rather than a purely chronological retelling, which left me feeling a little like I was missing half of the story. The first 2/3rds of the book are, however, well-written, and felt like a gritty police procedural novel, rather than actual non-fiction, so from that point of view, the book is eminently readable. What drew me to the book was the promise of a Billion Dollar conspiracy, and because there was a lack of cohesion between the players in the conspiracy, I found it hard to follow, or see what the overall point was.
I think it's a book of its time, an interesting read, but did not live up to its promise.
April 22, 2010
Despite attempts to connect the Vatican to the Mafia, it appears that both institutions used the same banker at different times. Possibly, the banker used a Vatican account to launder Mafia money; but there is no convincing argument that the Vatican knew about the transactions. Otherwise, a good re-telling of the activities of bankers Roberto Calvi and Michele Sindona, even if Sindona's climatic end came after the publication of the book.
April 19, 2019
A detailed examination of a case where stolen and counterfeit stocks make their way around the world. It's all very interesting, but frankly it's a long way to go for a rather meager payoff. As the book itself intones, "And now it was over, ended not with the glittering victories he had foreseen but on a sour and cynical note." I stuck with it mainly because I've enjoyed the author's other books, particularly THE CBS MURDERS.
April 12, 2023
Interesting story about the mafia, swindlers, world-wide corruption, counterfeit stocks, money, and the Vatican from the point of view of the investigators. Much of the story seems very slow and boring, but such is the nature of a years long investigation.
May 1, 2025
Fascinating book and unbelievable almost how far some of these got with their enterprises.
Some of the sentences handed down almost felt like they had got away with it
The Vatican is not so holy after all, wont spoil it but highly recommend this well researched book.
Some of the sentences handed down almost felt like they had got away with it
The Vatican is not so holy after all, wont spoil it but highly recommend this well researched book.
June 18, 2013
fine fine book-
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews