Chico Forti Release Plea Turned Down by Verona Court

Verona: A Verona surveillance court on Tuesday rejected a parole plea by a 66-year-old Trentino-born businessman who got life in the USA in 2000 for murdering an Australian businessman in Florida and who was transferred to Italy to serve out the remainder of his term last year.

According to Ansa News Agency, Chico Forti had been hoping that his chances of getting released in Italy, where life terms are rare, would have been boosted by his return to a Verona jail.

Forti has always denied murdering Dale Pike and he has garnered considerable support for his claims that he is the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

The Trentino man had asked the surveillance court to be allowed out of jail on a conditional basis.