[Deathwatch] Horst Fantazzini, gentleman bandit, 62

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Wednesday December 26 11:00 AM ET 

'Gentleman Bandit' Dies in Prison at 62

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's ``gentleman bandit,'' an affable anarchist who
courteously robbed banks in the 1960s and 1970s, has died in prison of
a heart attack at the age of 62, officials said Wednesday.

Horst Fantazzini conducted nonviolent stickups across northern Italy,
often using a toy gun according to some stories, and won his nickname
after sending roses to a bank teller who had fainted during a robbery.

His not-so-gentlemanly 1973 jailbreak attempt was depicted in a 1999
Italian movie called ``Outlaw'' by Enzo Monteleone. Fantazzini wounded
three guards and took two more hostages during the standoff.

He died Tuesday in prison in Dozza, a suburb outside of the northern
city of Bologna, after more than three decades in and out of jail and
various escape attempts, a prison official said.

He was enjoying ``semi-liberty,'' an alternative sentence which allows
model prisoners to spend part of their time outside of jail, until last
week when he was re-arrested while trying to rob a Bologna bank and put
back in prison full-time.

The ``gentleman bandit'' was born in Germany to an anarchist father and
became a prominent figure in the Italian anarchist movement himself as
well as a supporter of the ``Red Brigade'' extremist group that
murdered former Prime Minister Aldo Moro.