Carmine Gallo, a former top police officer under house arrest in connection with an alleged snooping ring, died of a heart attack at the age of 66. His lawyer, Antonella Augimeri, confirmed that he passed away on Sunday at his home in Garbagnate Milanese, in the province of Milan.
Gallo was among the alleged ringleaders of a group accused of illegally obtaining confidential information from national databases. The probe also implicated former Milan Fair Foundation president Enrico Pazzali. Investigators believe that the snooping was conducted through Pazzali’s Equalize agency.
Originally from Gragnano, in the province of Naples, Gallo had been under house arrest since October last year. Milan’s Anti-Mafia Directorate prosecutor Francesco De Tommasi, alongside DNA prosecutor Antonio Ardituro, led the investigation. Gallo faced charges of criminal association aimed at illegally accessing computer systems. Authorities suspected he was the head of a cyber-spying network that compiled illicit dossiers for Equalize’s clients. The network allegedly relied on the technical skills of Nunzio Samuele Calamucci.
Gallo joined the police force in 1978 and spent over 30 years handling high-profile operations in Italy and abroad. He was known for his fight against the Calabrian mafia and earned a reputation as a “supercop.” Gallo played key roles in major cases, including the kidnappings of Cesare Casella in 1988 and Alessandra Sgarella in the late 1990s. He also solved the infamous Gucci murder and was credited with orchestrating the cooperation of mafia informant Saverio Morabito.
His last official role was as deputy director of the Rho-Pero police station. In 2015, he managed security for world leaders attending the Milan Expo.
On Sunday morning, Carmine Gallo suffered a fatal heart attack while at home with his wife. An autopsy has been ordered as part of the ongoing investigation.
