In 1924 an automobile bearing five Fascist bullyboys and a kidnapped man raced out of Rome. The gang leader was vicious, U.S.-born Amerigo Dumini, henchman of Benito Mussolini. The victim was eloquent, anti-Fascist Giacomo Matteoti, leader of Italy's liberal and left-wing parties. His body, burned and headless, was eventually found in a ditch near Rome. His assassins were convicted but were soon freed.
Last week another automobile bearing Amerigo Dumini raced across Italy. The murderer of Matteoti was trying to escape the blackshirt roundup of the Badoglio Government. In his car were forged passports, a wad of currency and his mistress. But he did not reach the Swiss frontier. One story said that the carabinieri captured Dumini after a fierce gun fight. Another had him stopped by a barricade on the highway. All stories agreed that he was betrayed by a discarded mistress.