Former Vatican employee arrested on charges of extortion

The former employee of the San Pedro Factory, Alfio Pergolizzi, was arrested on May 27 accused of extortion, theft and fraud.

The St. Peter’s Factory is a Vatican institution whose function is the management of all the works necessary for the architectural and artistic realization of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

According to the Italian newspaper Tomorrow and confirmed by the Vatican Office of the Promoter of Justice, the man is currently under arrest in the Gendarmerie, awaiting trial.

The reason for his arrest is mainly due to the disappearance of a valuable Bernini manuscript in which certain details of the baldachin, one of the great works of St. Peter’s Basilica, are specified.

This manuscript, composed of 18 pages, had disappeared from the historical archive of the San Pedro Factory and later reappeared in a publication in 2021.

The accused appeared at the Vatican to hand over the original manuscript in exchange for 120,000 euros, an offer that Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, would have made him.

However, the cardinal had previously reached an agreement with the Gendarmerie and the accused was arrested before leaving Vatican City.

The Office of the Promoter of Justice will determine in the coming days if the document had been stolen by the accused during the period he worked there or if it was someone who helped him do it.