The Rise And Fall Of “Frank Sfarzo” And How “Sfarzogate” Ripples On And On



[Image is from Francesco Sforza’s early days in Seattle last year when he felt he was riding very high]


December 06, 2013. Francesco Sforza also known as Frank Sfarzo is due to appear today in a Florence criminal court.

He is charged with aggravated defamation (art. 595 of the Italian Criminal Code) against the Deputy Prosecutor General for Umbria (Perugia’s region)  Dr Giuliano Mignini, because he is a very senior officer of the court, with the alleged intention of obstructing justice on Knox’s behalf.

The charges refer to multiple accusations of criminality Sforza made online on his now hidden or defunct blog “Perugia Shock”. A prison term is unlikely if found guilty at this one trial, but the problem is that he faces a trial for violence against police in Perugia as well.

Who is Frank Sfarzo? Is he “a Perugian blogger and investigative journalist” and “personable black haired man with intense brown eyes”? (Candace Dempsey, who relied extensively on his personal contacts and blog for her book “Murder In Italy”)

Or as journalist Andrea Vogt wrote in a May 27, 2009 Seattle PI article,

Dempsey was one of the first U.S. bloggers to post key court documents. (Sourced from Sfarzo) She is now writing a book on the case. The other defense site is Perugia Shock, the first blog about the case, which started Nov. 2, 2007. Perugia Shock’s comment threads are home to some of the most heated Knox-related exchanges online.

Perugia Shock is hosted on a California server and financed by an American firm, according to the Perugia-based blogger who covers the case and operates the site under the alias “Frank Sfarzo.

“Also known as Frank Sfarzo, this home-spun blogger set up his blog “Perugia Shock” the day after (sic) Meredith’s body was found. The Knox family initially relied on his local intelligence, and he exchanged videos and information with pro-Amanda Seattle blogger Candace Dempsey”. Source: Darkness Descending page 324.

The journalist Barbie Nadeau has this to say about Sforza in “Angel Face” pages-89-91:

The first blog dedicated to the crime, Perugia Shock, was set up on November 02, 2007, the day Meredith’s body was discovered. The blogger, Frank Sfarzo, a skeletal man with a waxed crew cut, ran a student flophouse in town and believes that he missed a call from Meredith while she was looking for lodging.

When I later asked him in an e-mail why he started the blog, he explained the connection and described how Meredith had looked at the coroners: “Seriously, she was so beautiful and sweet, she seemed to be alive, with the mascara on her eylashes (sic), just like ready to go out.

“Sfarzo hid behind the handle, “Frank the blogger,” and he would never confirm whether he actually saw Meredith on the autopsy table or simply saw the coroner’s photos. (He saw the photos, and obtained copies) He ingratiated himself with several clerks and cops around town and, curiously, often had a document no one else could get or a scoop that beat out the rest of the press.

He started out as an objective observer, slightly sympathetic to Meredith, but became a rabid proponent of Amanda’s innocence. He was the quintessential blogger—a smart, cryptic, insomniac. Even the chief prosecutor, Giuliano Mignini, read his posts.

Mignini always believed that Frank’s blog was intellectually inspired and financially subsidized by Mario Spezi, the Italian journalist who covered the Monster of Florence serial killer for La Nazione. During the 1970’s and 80’s, several couples were murdered as they made love in their cars in the foothills around Florence. Spezi followed the investigation for years and pinned his reputation on a theory of the case that Mignini disputed. Eventually, Mignini had Spezi jailed for obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence.

Note: this is how the American fiction writer Douglas Preston got involved with Spezi, and latched on to the Meredith Kercher murder case as a way of getting back against Mignini, also supporting Frank Sfarzo behind the scenes.

Why is Frank Sfarzo so important to this case? It is about public perception about the guilt, or innocence of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, and how he was the source of many of the myths about the case and prosecutor Giuliani Mignini that have made it into the mainstream media. Yes, he had many police files, improperly obtained, and insecurely kept.

This article is the first of a series of posts about his activities in that regard, the true story of his so called “˜persecution’ by Dr Mignini, and the financial and other support he received from the supporters of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, and their families. He even hid his relationship with OGGI magazine.

It reveals why he really fled Italy to America, attempting to get a green card in the process, and the many cases of assault that are still outstanding against him. It details the story of his arrests for assault in Perugia, Hawaii, and Seattle, and the circumstances of his expulsion from Canada.

It will tell how he received tens of thousands of dollars in “˜donations’ from prominent supporters of Knox and Sollecito funneled through Bruce Fischer’s organizations “Injustice in Perugia” and “Injustice Anywhere” as well as his and other people’s PayPal accounts (I have the details) And it will detail the behind the scenes efforts to influence the case using Frank Sfarzo as a source for the allegations against Mignini through websites like IIP and Ground Report, which then made its way into the media.

This series will also reveal much about Frank Sfarzo, the man. Someone who believed primarily in Knox’s guilt (with Sollecito as the roped in sex-slave) it shows a flawed being willing to compromise himself to make money, and also, fulfill his long held dream to have “˜books written and movies made’.

In the course of this investigation, I met with and interviewed many previous supporters who now wish they had never met him, and some, who even, conclude that his reporting on the case was based on self-serving lies. The behavior of those that enabled him also comes under scrutiny, and, their attempts to intimidate people into not speaking up about his actions. 

They indeed, had much to hide.

This report is based on the hundreds of posts I made on him at PMF dot Net, with much help from the posters and editors there and at PMF dot Org. It was heartening to see the cooperation between the two sites and thanks are due to them, and also to Peter Quennell, who first invited me to join the Meredith Kercher community three years back (I’d been posting on the case at Huffington Post previously)

What will happen to Frank in court? I do not know, but it does appear, that the falsehoods he spread are beginning to unravel. I see he has surfaced again, after hiding from the authorities for so long. Reporting on Bruce Fischer’s blog, he writes “they attack me for speaking up”. No, I’m sorry. In this, as it always has been, the blogger Francesco Sforza, also known as Frank Sfarzo, is the author of his own misfortune.

Part II of the series, “The Sfarzo~Gate Papers”, will be published here next week. ~Ergon


[Below: This picture has a story behind it. Frank Sfarzo stayed almost two months at the Mellas household, and was later shunted off to various supporters when he made a sexual move on Amanda Knox.]

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Comments

I am very curious about this unsung hero of the FoA. I would love to know more.

Please post here your intelligence so that we can share the knowledge. If there is one thing all criminals hate equally that is sunshine.

Posted by chami on 12/06/13 at 06:31 AM | #

If anyone wants to try a wild ride, try clicking on the link at the top of Ergon’s post, and read the 30 or so posts there on Francesco Sforza starting way back with Skep’s

Here’s the link again.  http://www.truejustice.org/ee/index.php?/tjmk/C706/

Kermit alone did 10 of the most intense posts, because of Sforza’s seemingly endless hallucinatory vendetta against Dr Mignini and the huge number of people Sforza has fooled.

Also because Sforza works closely with the deluded Preston who was behind the worldwide smear of Dr Mignini by the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York.

Sforza also colludes with Spezi and other mafia fellow travelers, and has been published in Oggi, which carries water for unsavory types and will face a charge.

http://truejustice.org/ee/index.php?/tjmk/comments/1_the_oggi_article_which_conveys_to_italy_knoxs_claims_of_crimes/

http://truejustice.org/ee/index.php?/tjmk/comments/2_the_oggi_article_which_conveys_to_italy_knoxs_claims_of_crimes_/

http://truejustice.org/ee/index.php?/tjmk/comments/with_first_felony_complaint_against_her_book_filed/

Not clear whether Amanda Knox realizes it (Chris Mellas may do) but Sforza really is her worst friend. His paranoid takes have done her cause a ton of harm.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/06/13 at 06:33 AM | #

Hi, chami, Peter, thanks! Yes, there will be more information in Part II, which will cover his disastrous trip to the US and Canada, and why he had to flee (I do not believe he tried to return to Seattle for his trial December 31, 2012) and part III, which will go on to cover his links with the FOA, much of it information not published anywhere else except at http://www.perugiamurderfile.net and that is spread all over the course of half a year.

Here, I’m posting the condensed version, to make it more readable, but welcome any questions, there really were hundreds of posts about him. I’ll be happy to answer to what I know, and hope people will tweet this out.

Amanda Knox knows all too well what Frank Sfarzo is like, and he, knows what she is like. He does believe Knox was involved, but he loves money more, and hates Mignini more too.

It will be about Frank Sfarzo the man, and not just what he did.

Posted by Ergon on 12/06/13 at 07:07 AM | #

Today’s trial is a choice of the Florence chief prosecutor to proceed and suggests RS whose book his office is investigating may be the next domino.

Real pity it had to come to this but its Florence’s call and can be seen as a signal. 

Perugia Shock never attracted huge numbers but Sforza worked closely with Preston’s evil twin Spezi to make it a motherlode of wrong information.

The early images of Sforza in Seattle last year (the top image is one of them) suggest he thought he was now the annointed leader of the parade, something all the white knights dream about.

But too many people found to their shock and horror that he really is the houseguest from hell (he was asked to leave Chez Mellas and homes in Canada and Hawaii).

Also as Ergon says he will show us, Sforrza was working with Bruce Fischer to financially screw some very trusting, nice-minded people (it seems they still are).

Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/06/13 at 03:08 PM | #

The truth always comes out in the end. For Sforza, (I had to think for a second what his real name actually is)his day is coming and so too Knox and her partner in crime Sollecito.

All flakey individuals, for want of a better word. Birds of a feather really do stick together in this case.  The calibre of the company the Knox/Mellas clan keep speaks volumes of the type of people they are.

We have the hysterical cook - herself a shameless bleacher of the truth and propagator of wholesale falsehood, positively salivating at the mention of Sforza’s name and hanging onto his every word as if he is some type of god (maybe he is to her) and then we have the pretend “judge” Heavey paying Sforza a monthly salary (what for?)for corrupt services rendered - it cant be for anything else.

Heavey a man himself believing Knox was innocent because years ago his daughter shared a carpool to school with her - so she must be innocent, right judge?

The now defunct (shutdown by the authorities) Perugia Shock blog contained some of the most disgusting, hateful and shameless statements I have ever seen on this case, an absolute disgrace.I believe it acquired the name ‘The Cesspit’ on the pro Meredith/justice sites and rightly so.

I very much look forward to reading Ergon’s further postings on this thoroughly odious man and hope one day the whole corrupt PR sham with all the guilty individuals named and its function to pervert the cause of justice will face the blinding light of day.

Posted by DF2K on 12/06/13 at 04:15 PM | #

DF2K above wrote a much appreciated post here 5 years ago, just a couple of months after TJMK was started.

We were still feeling our way and calibrating and his cool and decisive tone and heavy fact emphasis really helped things, along with The Machine’s arrival and Skeps early posts here.

Ironically DF2K’s post was called… well, go see here.

http://truejustice.org/ee/index.php?/tjmk/comments/does_the_defense_campaign_really_have_any_plan_b/

With a stubborn Knox and Knox-Mellas family and poor lawyers and poor PR guidance, and a Knox Entourage from Hell, no surprise that he is still asking that same question.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/06/13 at 04:28 PM | #

Its been repeatedly suggested on the PMF forums that Knox’s own best choices for her entourage may not have been these posturing wannabees, each with their own self-centered agenda.

Her real dad now keeps them at arms length, but Chris Mellas (who Knox was known to resent before she went to Italy) still embraces and enables them. The Step-Dad from Hell.

The 2009 Sarzanini book in Italian (which the Knox people unsucessfuly tried to suppress and win damages over) included this quote from Knox’s diary on the Step-Dad from Hell:

Obviously Chris is making me anxious because he is an arsehole and so I had to go away. After I had excused myself with Mom to go away while they were putting up the tent, but I don’t intend to stay and make myself listen [to Chris say again] that I am an obtuse mental retard.

When I am responsible for those around me (when I have the authority of a mother) I won’t unload my frustration on the people that I love the most. So yesterday I was a little bit drunk and I called both Seliber and DJ. I can hardly wait to see them both. They are my “boys”. I love them.

Chew on that, please, dear psychologists!

Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/06/13 at 04:47 PM | #

“What will happen to Frank in court?”

I too, do not know what is going to happen to him but I am quite convinced that some unpleasant truth will come out. Some bitter truth!

I do not know whether the judges will find evidences sufficient to convict him but I know one thing for sure: some of the things that are only suspicions at this moment will be decided once for all one way or the other. The muddy water will look apparently clearer.

And finally I am only curious to know how did he decide to throw away out of the beautiful window all the things we proudly call honesty, ethics and morality: was it money, power or sex?

Perhaps some things will never be known.

Posted by chami on 12/06/13 at 04:53 PM | #

Latest from Andrea Vogt Twitter:

” #amandaknox sideshows: Florence ct orders blogger Sforza to trial for defamation. CSM acquits Prosecutor Comodi of wrongdoing re:video. “

https://twitter.com/andreavogt

Posted by True North on 12/06/13 at 05:07 PM | #

Interesting photograph. The attraction is obvious

Posted by Grahame Rhodes on 12/06/13 at 07:31 PM | #

@Grahame Rhodes

“Interesting photograph”

What an understatement!

Of course I cannot find a better word but surely Sollecito Jr can and will. Sometimes I think Italian is a richer language than American (but I can be wrong).

If he feels like a mafia boss, I can perfectly understand him.

And you call that interesting!

Posted by chami on 12/06/13 at 08:31 PM | #

On the trial of Francesco Sforza which is starting today in a Florence court: here is an update on the charges from Andrea Vogt on her own website The Freelance Desk.

http://thefreelancedesk.com/front_featured/amanda-knox-appeal-2/

There are a number of ongoing “sideshow” trials in the ongoing Meredith Kercher murder case that have unfolded as a result of various claims (and leaks) in the press.  On Friday a court in Florence ordered Perugian blogger Frank Sforza to stand trial February 9, 2014 for defamation (Article 595 of Law 47, 1948) through the media.

The case stems back to a blog post in which Prosecutor Mignini claims he was defamed when Sfarzo said he was “barricaded in the bunker,” along with, among others, drug dealers (who Mignini apparently takes a certain pride in prosecuting, not befriending). It is unrelated to another domestic incident that resulted in Sforza being forcefully arrested after police were called by his sister to the family home.

Note: Also unrelated to serious assaults and threatening behavior in three other places.

So here we are, with the odoriferous Mr. Sfarzo: not only is he a serial assaulter, he is a serial defamer, not just against PM Mignini, but against all of his victims!

No wonder the Knox campaign now say Frank Who? They are deathly afraid of this man who they relied on so much in the beginning of the PR campaign. Now, his value to them, is only in making sure he keeps his mouth shut.

Posted by Ergon on 12/06/13 at 08:46 PM | #

Hi True North

Thanks a lot on any quotes from Andrea Vogt. She is so fantastically reliable. Ergon etc have good comments on the first sentence. “” #amandaknox sideshows: Florence ct orders blogger Sforza to trial for defamation.“

I should explain what this second sentence is about. “CSM acquits Prosecutor Comodi of wrongdoing re:video.”

1) The short version.

In 2011 an anonymous complaint was made to the oversight bodies about the cost of the video recreating the attack on Meredith. The Council of Magistrates is the supreme oversight body under the President

The video took a great deal of work but it ended up explaining very precisely all the evidence in Merediths room and in the autopsy.

It was quite devastating when shown in closed court at the end of the 2009 trial in the Summations, it had some jurors crying, and it helped assure a guilty verdict and tough sentences.

So of course, naturally, more dirty tricks had to be played, to keep it from the Hellmann jury and maybe thereafter. The bent Hellmann had no interest in letting his jury see it, so of course his jury was easy to push toward “not guilty”.

The video wont be revived in court in the present appeal, as it was not filed as a court document, but jurors who know about it could certainly ask to watch it.

Now Andrea Vogt is saying that the cost of the video was acceptable, given its complexity and key explanatory power, and no rules were broken.

If the FOA wanted to save the Italian taxpayers money they should not have allowed the Hellmann appeal to be bent. That dirty trick has cost millions.

2) The long version.

Its in this post:  http://truejustice.org/ee/index.php?/tjmk/comments/dr_galati_please_check_out_what_looks_like_a_mischievous_defense/

*********

Added: I was commenting above only on the tweet. The full report which I read later includes this peculiar opinion. 

...but while the review found no wrongdoing on the prosecutor’s part, certainly the oversight bodies currently reviewing wasteful government spending should flag this as the kind of cost overrun for what it is: simply unacceptable.

That sure was an odd opinion from someone who knows the case. The REAL cost over-run to Italian taxpayers came from the bending of the Hellmann appeal and the bent C&V consultancy. In fact, up in the millions.

Italian taxpayers need to have revealed much more about those. Why is the displaced Judge Chiari not being interviewed?

Each cost a lot more than this complex and highly effective reconstruction for for which the bill in the US could have been higher - expensive reconstruction videos are not uncommon here, ask the Jodi Arras prosecution.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/06/13 at 08:52 PM | #

Hi Peter

“Chew on that, please, dear psychologists!”

(i) I’m not a psychologist, as such,  but I’ll give my lay opinion!

(ii) I’m still chewing but first thoughts:

Seliber and DJ - earlier blueprints for RS and RG (“my boys”)? AK seemed to be seeking her own authority (“as a mother”) because the proper and original authority, Curt, had upped and left the poor wee thing before she was knee high to a grasshopper. Objectively it is actually a bit sad.

This left her sensitive to being abandoned again, thus the urgent need to find her own authority and making it difficult to warm to Mellas.

Pre-Perugia AK seemed torn between finding her own authority in an adult way (by going to College, studying, etc.) and hanging out with Seattle druggie low-lifes (I think I read that somewhere) where she could be some kind of “maternal” (albeit tom-boyish) authority immediately, now, no need for accreditation, etc. Her need for that missing authority was so primal and urgent that it could wait no longer. Definitely a suitable case for expert treatment. How much could have been nipped in the bud when she was obviously in need of help?

Returning to Seattle from prison she reverts to the conventional way that young people find their authority, and makes a big display of going back to college. How much of that is a genuine change in attitude and how much is PR? Just PR in my view. It’s too late for all that now - someone has been murdered.

Step-parent relationships with their step-children can be, though aren’t always, very fraught, for fairly obvious reasons (I have personal experience as a step-father). It is a very difficult role to play and you have to be a bit thick-skinned because you’re inevitably seen as something of a usurper.

I’ll keep chewing:-)

Posted by Odysseus on 12/06/13 at 09:34 PM | #

This is off topi but is said in response to the statement about Amanda’s resentment of Chriss Mellas.

My own personal opinion is that Amanda has always had her mother wrapped around her little finger to some degree. I think she basically lied her way out of trouble all the time—and wrote lovey-dovey notes to her mom which earned her total exculpation for things that she really needed to be disciplined for. I don’t think her mother was much of an authority figure and Amanda probably did pretty much as she wanted.

She probably got lots of feedback for being a good student, but I wonder, looking at her writing samples, if some of her teachers didn’t get the message that Edda didn’t want her child criticized if her work wasn’t up to par. I don’t find Chris Mellas to be a nice person, he is really hateful—but Amanda’s resentment of him may stem in part because he actually did try to instill some sense of discipline in her life. Good luck with that.

She was probably well off the rails before he ever met Edda. I think his taking up residence in Perugia to be there for her support indicates that he cares about her. Don’t misconstrue this to mean that I find anything admirable about him. I just don’t see him at the total bad guy in the relationship between him and Amanda. It seems to me that she would be a VERY difficult step-child.

Posted by beans on 12/06/13 at 11:26 PM | #

Beans, I completely agree with you.  I’ve always been somewhat suspicious of Amanda’s opinion of him, since he’s actually gone to great and vicious lengths to defend her. I imagine that when she lived at home, he may have tried to set her straight on some things, which may have come as a shock to someone used to overall lenience and approval.

I also don’t think there’s anything wrong with considering people as fundamentally complex.  Mellas has played a significant part in obstructing justice and smearing innocent people, but that doesn’t mean he can’t love his family.  Similarly, Dr. Sollecito has done some truly despicable things (thinking about the Telenorba incident in particular), but I’ve always thought he had been a caring father for Raffaele (and still is, albeit probably at a loss for the last couple of years given Raffaele’s out of control behavior).

————————————————————-

I don’t know who Seliber was, but DJ didn’t seem like a bad guy.  A bit eccentric maybe, but he seems to have distanced himself from Knox just like Madison has as of late.  I wouldn’t put him in the same category as Raffaele and Rudy - kind of disrespectful towards someone who hasn’t done anything wrong.  We don’t have to look at everyone she’s known before and categorize them in terms of this case.

—————————————————————

I also didn’t know that Frank had looked at Meredith’s pictures.  That bit I found profoundly revolting, considering what a pathetic worm he is.  I am sorry for his family and for everyone he’s scammed and assaulted, and I hope that justice catches up with him.  It’s kind of incomprehensible to me how someone with a history like his can still walk around free when he’s proven time and time again that he’s a danger to others.

Posted by Vivianna on 12/07/13 at 01:23 AM | #

Frank was walking around with a number of pictures of Meredith’s body during his trip to the US. All now returned to the authorities.

Posted by Ergon on 12/07/13 at 01:43 AM | #

OMG…I have exactly 6 min online. This is good stuff. I will come back and read in full tomorow. Thank you

Posted by Bettina on 12/07/13 at 02:08 AM | #

What I see in the photograph is mutual attraction and it would not surprise me in the slightest, (given Knox’s record of bedding strange men) that Frank did not know about this or care really but wanted the same. I suspect that was a factor in getting him banned and thrown out from the family home.

However to more important things. The family Sollicito has, apart from dear old Francesco, remained relatively quiet. I understand that they had to sell their house in order to pay for legal council. Julia Bongiorno might be a good lawyer but you get what you pay for. On the other hand Vannessa Sollicito has disappeared from view since I believe she was suspended and then eventually lost her job because she tried to pervert the course of justice.

However I am puzzled by the total absence of RS step mother Maria Papagni. There must be tremendous tensions and arguing within the Sollicito household when you consider that it came as such a shock to Sollicito Snr that Crini bore down so hard. This begs the question did Sollicito really expect any different or was he thinking it was going to be the same as the last time? If that’s true then he’s as loopy as his son, and just as nasty given the release of the murder photographs which is despicable. That being the case and when you consider a step father for Knox and a step mother for RS it just complicates the situation. If Maria Papagni was RS biological mother I could see more empathy but not this way. Obviously both families posses an undercurrent of hate for society while they will do anything to protect it they will always eventually only protect themselves. This is called self protection.

My gut feeling therefore is that both these step parents have continuously advised and cajoled and threatened their partners to cut their step children adrift. After all neither of them signed on to protect murderers and it would not surprise me if either of them have forced Sollicito Snr and Edda Knox/Mellas to make a choice. ie “Either them of me.” and as time goes on the tension will increase.

Certainly the feeling in the Sollicito camp is the desire to separate Knox from RS at the trial to which of course RS has refused. That I find moronic stupid and predictable since of course Knox herself has been busy boffing others so for RS to make any sexual claim is simply ludicrous. He claims that he is not jealous but I would advise him to look at the above photo among so many others. He will change his tune when he goes to jail with the likes of Allesi and Aviello. After all RS is the epitome of jail bate. Welcome to hell etc’ because of course Guede is just waiting to tell his story and don’t think for an instant he won’t, since he will be offered a lot of money for his side of things.

Giusseppe Sollicito is silent as well as is Rosaria Achilles. It’s impossible that they do not recognize RS guilt but then I suppose that, like Edda and Curt, the blinders are on. On second thought that’s a stupid observation because of course both families know full well the guilt of these two…. How could they not?

The only thing both families can really do is except the inevitable guilty verdict and the prison sentence that goes along with it. What else is possible? So they will just have to except the only way to see both of these two guilty murderers is on visiting day. Times up since both families are broke.

Posted by Grahame Rhodes on 12/07/13 at 02:58 AM | #

Frank Sfarzo is getting into a Twitter war at the moment https://twitter.com/FrankSfarzo

“9 Febbraio prossimo, che bello! Non vedo l’ora, grazie Mostro, sentirai tante belle cose!”

Google translate: “February 9 next, how nice! I can not wait, thanks Monster, you will hear many nice things!”

This pertaining to earlier reports his next trial date is February 09, 2014. That is a Sunday?

Posted by Ergon on 12/07/13 at 03:48 AM | #

Thank you Ergon for the interesting read. It looks like a tough work, accurate information collection to form an picture easy to read, I didn’t know about some of this info.

Posted by Yummi on 12/07/13 at 04:23 AM | #

Sorry that I called our dear frankie the “unsung hero”.

But I am surely at a loss on how to describe this monster in human shape and form. Now that he has tasted blood, he is not going to stop at anything. This is going to be a great fall and he is going to take with him the little (or should I say great) angel. Much like the marriage of Quasimodo (in the Hunchback of Notre Dame).

The good thing is that he is still available for sale to the highest bidder but be warned, he has a big appetite.

What he was doing before? Did he ever have any job? Is he a real journalist (anybody can be a freelance, right)? In short, how he was getting his pasta on his plate daily?

Past is an important indicator of the future (mostly).

Posted by chami on 12/07/13 at 04:44 AM | #

@Vivianna

I completely agree with your observation that

“I don’t know who Seliber was, but DJ didn’t seem like a bad guy”

He is the husband in the trial marriage, right? But I don’t like his choice of colours, though. But then who am I…

He appears to be a nice gentleman, but eccentric as you say. But eccentricity can be transitive, you see, and many good and great people are somewhat eccentric.

But has he fallen from favour, he is not sighted any more. Did he attend the gala party? Bu you are correct in saying that we need not look at all the people AK has known before and after…

But our dear frankie is different. He loves the sweet smell of money. Of course some extra topping is always welcome.

Posted by chami on 12/07/13 at 05:02 AM | #

Thanks, @Yummi, there is more, much more to come, happy to share.

@chami, Andrew Seliber is shown here

http://www.today.com/video/today/34287358#34287358

He is her college best friend who I believe bought her the notorious ‘bunny vibrator’. Someone looking very like him was at the Vashon Sportsmen’s Bar gala on July 28, 2012.

David Johnsrud, her boyfriend from before she moved to Italy (and looks like Raffaele Sollecito) was not present.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2046883/Amanda-Knox-reunited-ex-David-Johnsrud-resembles-Raffaele-Sollecito.html 

James Terrano, of orange trousers and ‘trial marriage’ fame is no longer in the picture, has moved out, and wasn’t even at the party.

Though she could always get married and/or pregnant in time for the extradition battles 😊

Posted by Ergon on 12/07/13 at 06:11 AM | #

@Ergon

Sorry for the goof-up. I need a full time secretary who will be willing to keep track of the list of men the little angel ... I do not think Excel can handle this without crashing…

Yes, I meant JT. Heartiest congratulations on your successful exit.

I now recall the DJ chap- he moved to china, right? Best wishes ...

So Seliber is still sending good vibes…

How does she keep track? Everything is there in the little diary?

Posted by chami on 12/07/13 at 09:10 AM | #

Hi Ergon

Thanks for the update on the Francesco Sforza trial. We will post more soon. You quote his subsequent foolhardy tweet thus:

“February 9 next, how nice! I can not wait, thanks Monster, you will hear many nice things!”

In fact this is pure posturing. Sforza has nothing to add that will not drag him in much deeper and his own lawyer knows that.

On the other hand, the prosecution is really “loaded for bear”.

1) he will have the rash and unfounded statements Sforza has posted over the years - frantically taken offline but plenty of copies were kept.

2) Connections of Sforza to many others such as Spezi, Preston, Mellas and Fischer are known, and their repeating of his wild claims should all be brought in too.

This really is the nose of the camel under the tent or the tip of the iceberg if you prefer.

http://truejustice.org/ee/index.php?/tjmk/comments/contempt_of_court_trial_now_begun_could_decimate/

Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/07/13 at 12:14 PM | #

After using my aging app Seliber turns out to be a young Sforza 😊

Posted by Helder Licht on 12/07/13 at 01:15 PM | #

More war:

http://wrongfulconvictionnews.com/the-war-against-amanda-knox-raffaele-sollecito-and-anyone-who-defends-them/

Posted by Helder Licht on 12/07/13 at 01:57 PM | #

. . . written by Sfarzo.
Posted by . . . BF (You mean the . . .?)
Yes that one.

Posted by Helder Licht on 12/07/13 at 02:04 PM | #

We know them all allready:

AK BF RS JB FS CM KK EM RG . . .

True justice for Meredith Susanna Cara Kercher!

Posted by Helder Licht on 12/07/13 at 02:09 PM | #

Ah sorry G. I the Netherlands we call you J.

Posted by Helder Licht on 12/07/13 at 02:46 PM | #

Amanda’s friend Jessica looks strangely very like Edda! 

Interesting posts - it’s amazing how much information from Preston and probably Sfarzo are quoted by people in their comments about the case on sites like CNN, ABC.

Posted by believing on 12/07/13 at 03:24 PM | #

I like the way the lawyer presents the case and says it was not a ‘slam-dunk’ as the NBC moderator was trying to push.  First time I’ve heard an American lawyer speak in such a balanced way besides Alan D. in NY.  Never saw this interview before.

Posted by believing on 12/07/13 at 03:27 PM | #

It’s a bit nauseating the way Frankie is physically cozying up to Amanda.  I would say it looks obvious that he is trying to get more intimate with her, but she looks a bit wary of his growing attention, while appreciative of his support. The word that comes to mind when reading about him and seeing the photos is ‘Slimy’.  It’s disgusting that he obtained photos of MK’s body and carried them around.  How weird is that?  I can’t imagine how the Kerchers have dealt with this media parade for so many years.

Posted by believing on 12/07/13 at 03:32 PM | #

Just saw this great schematic diagram on the Andrea Vogt twitter page from a commenter, summarizing the evidence, have you seen it?

https://twitter.com/Ben_Cooleyy/status/398913601861189632/photo/1/large

Posted by believing on 12/07/13 at 03:36 PM | #

Can someone translate Sollecito’s 112 calls from Italian to English?  Might I add that he sounds remarkably calm for someone who was supposedly panicking and trying to break down a door?

http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/Massei_Trial#Amanda_Knox.27s_Spontaneous_Statement_—_Feb_13_2009

Interesting to reread the trial testimonies.  Not much of this is reported in American media.

Posted by believing on 12/07/13 at 04:21 PM | #

@Pete (10.47am) on the Knox diary extract :

Quite a few mouthfuls there to chew (as I believe you know!)... It open up several text-book chapters -mostly on the negative animus and consequent behaviour, which is very characteristic to recognize :

“a woman with a positive animus shows assertiveness, control, thoughtful rationality, alongside strength. The negative animus would perhaps reveal sarcasm, head strong comments, ruthlessness, destructive forces, and a general need to always have the last word. “

But to develop the positive animus one needs a positive model, - a woman who has already developed this. And also guidance and influence from a man one can trust as growing up.

What is very clear is there is an absence of ‘connection’ between A and her step father - it would seem they don’t actually like each other, nor trust.

Is he (Mellas) very competitive? AK already has issues around being competitive.

Posted by SeekingUnderstanding on 12/07/13 at 04:56 PM | #

One could also write a whole thesis on ‘Inner Authority’...

Here’s a link to the subject linked to the gradual development of Jung’s individuation :

http://jungiantrainingboulder.org/365/

...the most relevant point probably being that finding one’s true inner authority is a gradual process, that contrasts with instant gratification and entitlement.

It’s also not possible to develop an authentic inner voice,  without consulting and developing one’s conscience. It is well known that absence of conscience is a feature of personality disorder and psychopathology.

Just from observation of the above photographs, it seems that AK and Sforza are / were mutually attracted ...by…?

Posted by SeekingUnderstanding on 12/07/13 at 05:13 PM | #

@Helder Licht on 12/07/13 at 07:57 AM

A very hot news (too hot to handle), written by dear frankie on Nov 27 and posted by the door man on the front door on Nov 29, gets only two comments in the 9 days!

The army marches on its belly. The all volunteer army has not been fed for a long time.

Posted by chami on 12/07/13 at 05:31 PM | #

I check the Knox web sites almost daily including ‘Ground Report’ although I need to take a ‘Gravol’ sickness pill before hand.

Point is, for the longest time there has not been a peep out on anything at all.

This I find particularly encouraging since ‘Ground Report’ in particular (Fischer in other words) writes reams of copy in the hope that the more words, by the pound, he and others write will make any difference at all.

Even the lunatic fringe Michelle Moore or less and others of the same kidney have kept silent. Could this be of a positive note? I sincerely hope so since as chami so rightly pointed out. “The volunteer army has not been fed for a long time.”

Posted by Grahame Rhodes on 12/07/13 at 07:24 PM | #

@Grahame Rhodes     very interesting

Posted by SeekingUnderstanding on 12/07/13 at 08:07 PM | #

Many thanks to the comments that remind and help me to complete Part II of the SfarzoGate series 😊

Yes, Frank also had in his possession the complete Raffaele Sollecito 112 calls where previously we only had an incomplete version that was played on Italian media, and now thanks to the anonymous sources that sent them to me, are now being shared by the Meredith Kercher community.

Note: all the material we got was forwarded to the Italian authorities, and if they are included in the charges against him, I am sure he has a very good lawyer. And before threats are made by the usual suspects, please note that Frankie lost TWO hard drives, so shoot the serial assaulter/defamer, OK?

Yes, it would be nice to get a complete translation again, the one on the Wiki is a best effort. But only so we can compare it with Follain, who does have a complete translation in his book.

Yes, it appears that Preston helped Sfarzo in many ways, thanks to their mutual acquaintance with Mario Spezi.

And yes, while the few groupies/many socks are a bit starved right now, “Denver” did post a new piece about “Satanism” on Ground Report attacking PM Mignini again, all barebones recycled shite, nothing new, no facts. They are truly running on fumes.

More interesting instead, to speculate on who sock puppet “Denver” is. As Andrea Vogt wrote in Seattle PI May 2009, many of these attacks were traced to a block of IP addresses controlled by one Chris Mellas, Esq. He denied sending them, of course, and considering his record, nah, I don’t believe him.

But yes, the media is still recycling the old Sfarzism/Prestonisms, and hopefully we can get the media to report fairly, but I will not hold my breath. I’d rather report here, and let it disseminate on the Net.

So I’ll excuse myself in a bit, I did promise to have part II ready by Monday morning 😊

Posted by Ergon on 12/07/13 at 09:06 PM | #

And hi, believing, SeekingUnderstanding, I believe that Amanda Knox’s psychology is formed, above all, by the absence of her father since childhood. The gulf between him and her is vast, and glossed over in her book, IMO.

And yes, the second picture clearly shows how she is with Frank Sfarzo. The attraction/repulsion is there, and that’s why it is important, since it captures his entire two month interlude with the Mellases quite well. This the man who offered to sell nude pictures of her to the media, keep in mind, and the only way he got away with becoming their house guest was because he insisted that he had information that ‘would blow the case wide open’, but really, he was selling a con to the rubes.

Within a week of his arriving there, they were complaining to each other about his ways, even at the gala party (actually a rally the troops exercise in team building, to prepare and coordinate the PR push for the ‘Two Books’.

But here, it is Frank, about whose kinky ways I actually know more than I need to :( who is the gigolo seducer, and Amanda Knox, the reluctant seducteee 😊

Posted by Ergon on 12/07/13 at 09:33 PM | #

@Ergon

Yes, absolutely, AK’s relationship with, and indeed genetic inheritance from, her father are all important. I think her relationship with her mother (and the parents to each other) is also of great significance, and is not straight forward.

There are many indications of this, - it’s not happy news.

Posted by SeekingUnderstanding on 12/07/13 at 10:00 PM | #

Question? The Sollicito’s supposedly sold their house in order to pay for legal council. Where are they living now and what is their source of income?

The reason for the question is too see just how far into the well of financial ruin their son has got them. Obviously they can’t keep this up.

Knox also must be running on financial empty given the the fact that any sources at all must be drying up.

Posted by Grahame Rhodes on 12/07/13 at 10:19 PM | #

As an aside, I think the photo of Sforza cosying up to Knox is worthy of a caption competition.

As Believing states above of Sforza’s disgusting hawking of images of Meredith in her death, perhaps Knox is saying “you messed up the nudey photos of me too you Schmuck, how can we propagate my image in the media as the tabloid sex bomb now?”

“You’re fired Frank.”

Posted by DF2K on 12/08/13 at 12:07 AM | #

@SeekingUnderstanding

“... it seems that AK and Sforza are / were mutually attracted ...by…?”

Recognition of a [gruesome]kindred spirit?

Obnoxious lost souls the pair of them, no doubt. Still he who is without sin, etc…

Let them (and RS) face the best and most wise justice there is. In that respect I think Italy is doing pretty well. As has been pointed out, AK might well have been executed or indefinitely incarcerated by now in many jurisdictions (including her homeland)- no second thoughts or mercy whatsoever.

Posted by Odysseus on 12/08/13 at 12:15 AM | #

@ Odysseus

like the inverse of meeting a soul mate?  meeting a no-soul mate?  I echo your last paragraph.

Posted by SeekingUnderstanding on 12/08/13 at 12:28 AM | #

Thanks so much. I am looking forward to Chapter II. By then I may be able to add something of worth…but I like the in depth look at the italian blogger. I look forward to your perspectives, Ergon. Smile

Posted by Bettina on 12/08/13 at 01:30 AM | #

@chami..maybe JT had principles and didn’t like the deal…dunno. he didn’t look happy in photos.

As for Frank…he made his bed, by thinking he could accuse Mignini of heinous crimes. I still have those emails from Frank.

His stories become grander each time he tells…but all he wants is your money.

I think the guy is amoral.

Posted by Bettina on 12/08/13 at 05:13 AM | #

oh yeah…I was told on the night of that pic, he would not leave Amandas side nearly all night.

I think she knows he is pond scum, but enjoys her sexual hold on him. Either way, not so healthy.

Posted by Bettina on 12/08/13 at 05:24 AM | #

@SeekingUnderstanding on 12/07/13 at 04:00 PM

You are very much correct on the Frank-Amanda interaction. However, I strongly believe that the attraction is mutual and it shows.

One-way attractions usually do not last for more than a few minutes. Under normal conditions. Although all we have is only a snapshot in time, it does convey a lot. And this is not a normal case.

It is the parental control that broke the budding interaction. It has gone quite deep by that time. All that shows.

I am quite sure our dear frankie does treat all women equally. Take a second look at the photo, it is worth it!

Posted by chami on 12/08/13 at 08:00 AM | #

Is Sollecito back in Italy for his final exam supposedly taking place 8 December?

I must say that I am curious about the date as 8 December is a Sunday.  Do exams take place on Sundays in Italy?

Posted by thundering on 12/08/13 at 09:53 AM | #

@chami
Yes, entirely mutual dynamic of mainly unconscious energy, completely agree. Find the photo difficult to look at though!

Posted by SeekingUnderstanding on 12/08/13 at 12:41 PM | #

Answer to some questions:

Raffaele Sollecito was due to return to Italy Dec.8, exams shortly after.

He and his sister co-owned rental properties inherited from his mother, and he had to take loans for his legal expenses, but I do not now that they were sold.

Papa Sollecito likely hasn’t sold his, his wife might have a lot to say about that!

I understand how some people feel about the photos. However, as an insight into the psychology of the people involved, they are priceless.

The Frank with a bottle of Screech Brandy? He glares at the camera, having already had a row with his Canadian host, who he abused and later said was ‘living in a barn’. Actually quite a lovely chalet.

The smug looks of the people at the Vashon Island gala? They were really full of themselves at the time, that they had ‘got Amanda Knox free’ and many of the FOA were there, about 60 people in all. (Steve Shay and Anne Bremner were not invited).

The famous Vashon Island group photo, now much circulated? They were asked ‘to send a message to Mignini’ and shouts of ‘Pignini’ rung out.

They really are a group of smug, xenophobic people.

Posted by Ergon on 12/08/13 at 06:33 PM | #

Thanks Beans, Vivvianna, Chami, Grahame and of course SeekingUnderstanding on the Chris Mellas/Knox psychology.

For a long time I thought Curt’s pathologies were THE main root cause, and Grahame could well be right - what she did say in the book about Curt was quite barbed.

But I’ve been told enough to look also at Chris Mellas more, as things about him oggling and needling Knox as an early teen filter through, and as I hear more about his being the backseat driver of so much unpleasant stuff on the web and doing that mainly because that is what he enjoys. 

Of course, Amanda Knox did take off out of the Mellas household twice (2005 and late 2011) to live elsewhere and has just occasionally visited since. Curt seems to have chilled along with some of AKs former friends.

On the bright side, we dont have a little Sforza-Knox tot wandering around.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/08/13 at 10:16 PM | #

Thank you, Ergon.  That makes better sense.

Posted by thundering on 12/08/13 at 10:17 PM | #

Hi Bettina

Thanks for the great tips. You’ve, ah, met him, I only nearly did. As I believe you know, Frank was a hero to many of us here prior to late 2008 when he turned on a dime on Perugia Shock and in his posts began to openly fawn over Knox and forget Meredith fast.

Ergon may have the full story of what happened to Frank late in 2008. We’ll see. Money needs, vanity, status, paranoia, a chip on his shoulder, mental wiring to which drugs did some harm? Those who know him suspect all of the above.

The bits I myself already know about which might have promoted the u-turn include nude photos of Knox which he obtained (Ergon mentions them above), a Perugia visit by Ann Bremner who guest-hosted his blog, a long visit by Candace Dempsey who used him as her primary source, and some cozying up to him by the Knox defense team.

Plus Preston may have been in touch with him or visited him by then; Frank might have first met Spezi at that time. The Sollecitos might have put money in. Maybe some commercial project in Perugia did not pan out. He had a PayPal link on Perugia Shock trying to attract an income.  Police headquarters clamped down on his one source, a sour cop, who had been making things up and making illegal leaks.

In five years, he’s the only one I can think of who did a violent swing from “us” to “them”. Dr Mignini easily had Google stop hosting his hallucinatory blog (Chris Mellas replaced it but yanked that down again). and thinks he’s a mental case - one of many including RS and Ak who just cant seem to stop banging their heads against a wall.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/08/13 at 10:25 PM | #

That will be Part III, Peter 😊 His mafia Berlusconi connections no longer panning out, he hoped to move back to America (lived there before) on the basis of his ‘relevations’ about the case.

Crumbs from Amanda’s table no longer falling his way, he became increasingly bitter. But, once the SfarzoGate papers and news of his arrests came out, he started being paid to keep his mouth shut. Funny, how I ran into him at Cassazione, then again on the bridge leading from the courts, driving a new Smart Car (and texting and driving too 😊

Posted by Ergon on 12/08/13 at 11:06 PM | #

Ah what the hell. I think Frank tried to screw Knox and perhaps he did since that would really set the cat among the pigeons. Point is, when examining a crime scenario or any scenario at all for that matter, always look for the most simple answer to the question and that usually is the correct one. Nude photographs indeed.

Posted by Grahame Rhodes on 12/08/13 at 11:58 PM | #

@Graham Rhodes

“Even the lunatic fringe Michelle Moore or less and others of the same kidney have kept silent.”

M&M is making some sort of progress:

” I actually have come to the point of realization that many (not all) of the people who are advocating for her and Raffaele’s guilt don’t actually believe they are guilty. It’s merely a war to them.”

She probably read Chami’s comment (“A very hot news (too hot to handle), written by dear frankie on Nov 27 and posted by the door man on the front door on Nov 29, gets only two comments in the 9 days!”) because she started her comment with an excuse for not having read it earlier.

Posted by Helder Licht on 12/09/13 at 11:33 AM | #

progress=ironical

Posted by Helder Licht on 12/09/13 at 11:35 AM | #

Hello Helder

Yes that thought had occurred to me also. Some people for example the Moore’s, Preston (who I phoned once to ask why? but didn’t get an answer just abuse.), Fischer et al when they take a stance refuse to acknowledge any point but their own.

That is why this site has more credibility than Ground Report for example, since we are open to suggestions and input from everywhere. This, although we laugh at the exertions of the Knox troglodytes, is the thoughtful approach which has and will, produce the best result.

Point is Knox and Sollicito regardless of the outcome will never be free as long as they live.

Posted by Grahame Rhodes on 12/09/13 at 04:42 PM | #

I think Michelle is projecting a little there.  While some of the innocentisti appear to be devoid of any logic and blinded by xenophobia and ugly stereotypes, I suspect others know better but choose not to show it.  There are no donation buttons here for individual contributors, no media circus, no interview fees, etc.  While what Knox and Sollecito did was absolutely inhuman and despicable, I think that serving out a sentence would have been more dignified and less psychologically harmful than being surrounded by people who are trying to profit off their crime.  Their families, and especially Knox’, chose a special kind of hell for them.  Even if they aren’t currently locked up, they are still paying for the life they took with wasted lives spent in fear under a magnifying glass.

Posted by Vivianna on 12/09/13 at 06:41 PM | #

@Vivianna

you have put it so nicely.

I can make out, mostly, the foot soldiers from the generals. Foot soldiers always wait for the order and if the order does not come soon, they feel lost.

The generals know the full story. MM is a general. So is Gen Halkides. But our dear frankie is special. He is a class by himself. I am just trying to get a mental picture of this grand master…

How will you describe this great kid?

You are so right when you wrote “serving out a sentence would have been more dignified and less psychologically harmful than…” but blame the larger than life egos of the parents for this mess.

I sometimes feel that the generals are getting tired repeating the same old script again and again…

Everybody needs a break.

Posted by chami on 12/09/13 at 08:20 PM | #

Chami, you ask how I’d describe Frank.  I’d say that he’s a delusional middle-aged man who’s never had the intelligence, talent, or charisma to achieve the status he’s always craved, and who’s also never had the willingness and discipline to work towards any goals. 

His violence is probably a result of narcissism and self-entitlement mixed with frustration.  He doesn’t have any moral compass, any concern for others, and any allegiance. 

As much as I dislike Knox, the idea that he tried to peddle her private pictures disgusts me.  She deserves to be judged in a court of law and to serve an appropriate sentence, but I don’t think she should be treated like she’s subhuman (it would be perverse to criticize the trio for treating Meredith in a subhuman manner while wishing the same on them).

I don’t wish Frank on anyone, and I think that those who’ve made the mistake to allow him in their lives have deeply regretted it afterwards.  If he goes to prison, which I hope he does, I don’t think he’ll have an easy time because even criminals have a sort of moral code and people like Frank are close to the bottom of the pole. 

I am sorry for his family, and I hope their privacy will continue to be respected.  I hope they’ll be able to protect themselves from him in the future because I don’t doubt he’s caused them much grief over the years.

Posted by Vivianna on 12/10/13 at 05:34 PM | #

@Vivianna

Thanks for telling us how Frank the great looks under the charming face. I am not thorough with most of the details and I am getting the basics clearer now.

Some people, in fact most of the criminals, I hope to include AK and RS in that class, commit a crime once in a lifetime and it is really an aberration or singular event in their life. And they are the potential candidates for reform.

In fact, many people fall down but they get up and proceed. People learn from their mistakes.

Long long ago, we were asked to translate “L’homme n’est ni ange ni bête et le malheur veut que qui veut faire l’ange fait la bête..” and I wondered why someone will think or write something like that…

He is another sick fellow but of a different kind. And there is no treatment for him…

He is potentially far more dangerous than AK and/ or RS. They do irreversible damage to many.

Posted by chami on 12/10/13 at 08:05 PM | #

“Man is neither an angel nor a beast and misfortune wants the one who wants to become an angel to become a beast.”

Posted by aethelred23 on 12/10/13 at 08:43 PM | #

Thanks for the quote, chami, and translation, aethelred…

Personally, I wouldn’t underestimate the latent dangerousness in AK. The nature is typically more overt in the older, more ‘confident’, male.

Posted by SeekingUnderstanding on 12/10/13 at 09:21 PM | #

Frank gave me an Amanda shirt, like the one he is wearing…except mine is pink. There are several (very funny) misquotes on the front.
I considered writing guilty across the front and posting it. I considered sending it to anyone who made a contribution to the Kercher family, but who would want to own that??
Having said that, MiMOOOO’s gaffe was perfect.
He also gave me a bottle of cheap perfume, and some glittery nail polish in bright red. He told me customs seized the expensive bottle of wine he tried to bring on plane( haha…it’s a lie).
Years ago, I asked him what he was going to do after the trial was over…and, he told me he might go to Florence to battle Mignini! So, he must have known about Mignini’s lawsuit long before it became public knowledge.
Never met a human with his so ugly, except for everybody atFOA…giggle
Great work pmf’s TJMK, Kercher wiki…and all the tweeties.

Posted by Bettina on 01/01/14 at 10:35 PM | #
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