ITALIAN POLICE RAIDS ON SECTIONS OF THE PARTITO COMUNISTA ITALIANO (PCI) IN ROME

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R005600470011-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 30, 1999
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: August 22, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 1999/0 /09 : CIA-RDP82-00457R005600470011-1
CLASSIFICATION SAC _ /GU1JTRuL - U.S. 0FVIGijtI,S ONLY 25X1 X
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT NO.
INFORMATION REPORT CD NO.
Y
COUNTRY Italy
SUBJECT Italian Police Raids on Sections of the
25X1A Partito Commnista Italiano (PCI) in Rome
25X1X
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO,
1. The Italian police raids on the Rome PCI Sections, which took place on
5 August 1950, reportedly were.no surprise to Italian Communist leaders, who
had previously predicted the probability of such action by the police. A
week before the raids,the Cadre Office of the PCI Rome Federation had noti-
fied all Sector and Section secretaries to remove from their files all lists
of Party members and any other compromising material.
2. The greatest surprise was caused by the police action against the Rome Federa-
tion Headquarters, but even here the Communists had foreseen that a raid might
occur. Prior to his departure far Prague, Pietro Seechia had ordered the
PCI Directorate to destroy all masters of off-set printing machines.
3. The PCI, however, did not expect the raids at the hour and day on which they
took place. Proof of this is the compromising material found in the Tuscolana
Section. No alarm or warning was given until the police raided the Testaceio
Section. Leaders of the Servizio d'Ordine ? Informazioni, and particularly
Luigi Acrosso, stated in a meeting of Sector Chiefs that the PCI Directorate
had been informed of the contemplated police action on the afternoon of the
same day of the raids, but that the Directorate had considered it unwise to
inform the Sections of the Party in order not to expose the Directorate's
informants. Furthermore, they felt safe since responsible persons had been
apprised of expected raids and given instructions.
4. Two meetings took place after the raids. The first was held on 6 August 1950
in the Rome hospital where Aldo Natoli was a patient. At this meeting it was
decided not to call a general strike and not to call a one-hour work stoppage.
They felt that the material confiscated by the police was for the most part
not compromising. The second meeting was a convocation on 9 August 195) of
the Sector secretaries, who were given orders to keep themselves at the dis-
posal of the Rome Federation and to prevent any uncontrolled action by any
Communist subordinate units.
5. Members of the Servizio d'Ordine e Informazioni and representatives of the
2ederation Cadre Office, among whom were Acrosso and Edoardo Perna, later
visited the raided Sections in order to obtain information of the police
operations.
CONFIDENTIAL
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