Published on: November 27, 2025, 11:09h.
Updated on: November 27, 2025, 11:24h.
A recently released memoir is causing a stir with its shocking allegations connecting the Vatican, organized crime in Las Vegas, and the unexpected death of Pope John Paul I in 1978.
In his book “Mafia Secrets: Untold Tales from the Hollywood Godfather,” actor-turned-author Gianni Russo asserts that the Vatican’s official narrative of the pope’s death—attributed to a heart attack—was a cover-up for an assassination that occurred just 33 days into his papacy. The lack of an autopsy has only amplified suspicions surrounding his demise.
“He was eliminated for failing to comply with the agenda,” states the 81-year-old author, who claims the pontiff was administered a covert and untraceable substance due to his refusal to be embroiled in a money-laundering scheme.
Russo suggests this “agenda” involved a channel through which the Vatican Bank purportedly laundered illicit funds, including skimmed casino profits linked to Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal and Anthony “Tony the Ant” Spilotro at establishments like the Stardust in Las Vegas.
He associates this incident with the Banco Ambrosiano scandal, which unfolded when Italy’s second-largest private bank collapsed under a staggering $1.3 billion in debt in 1982. Investigators unveiled that Ambrosiano had been channeling money through offshore front companies tied to the Vatican, financing various political initiatives and Cold War agendas.
Russo implicates Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, the then-president of the Vatican Bank, stating he was the mastermind behind the money-laundering operations. Marcinkus faced scrutiny for his involvement in Ambrosiano’s affairs but eluded prosecution by claiming diplomatic immunity from the Vatican.
The Vatican has refuted any wrongdoing yet consented in 1984 to pay $250 million to Banco Ambrosiano’s creditors in a settlement billed as “moral responsibility.”
Who is This Guy?
While Gianni Russo has gained fame for his portrayal of a mobster—playing Carlo Rizzi in the iconic film “The Godfather”—he claims to have worked as a messenger for New York mob boss Frank Costello and later acted as a connection between Hollywood and the Las Vegas mafia from the ’80s onward.
This experience placed Russo at the scene during the brutal killing of Spilotro and his brother, Michael, in a Chicago basement on June 14, 1986. Spilotro’s volatile behavior had escalated to such an extent that it endangered the Las Vegas operations.
“The assailants wielding bats were skilled in their approach … targeting the shoulders, chest, and legs, leaving the head for last,” he recounts. “When the gag was briefly removed from Tony’s mouth, he looked at me and pleaded, ‘Gianni … tell them to stop hitting Michael. He hasn’t done anything. Please.’” However, Russo narrates he felt powerless to halt the unfolding brutality.
When queried by the New York Post regarding his reasons for going public now, Russo dismissed any concerns about retaliation, stating: “There’s no one left. Everyone’s gone.”