Puccio family
The Puccio family was an Argentine criminal family. Three of the Puccios were convicted of four kidnappings and three murders in the early 1980s.
Background
The family, which comprised father Arquímedes Puccio, mother Epifanía Calvo, and five children (three sons and two daughters) – Alejandro, Silvia, Daniel, Guillermo, and Adriana Puccio - lived in a large house in San Isidro, a wealthy suburb of Buenos Aires.[1] Arquímedes is suspected to have been involved in forced disappearances during the Dirty War.[1] Alejandro was a star rugby player, and Silvia was an art teacher.[1]
Crimes
- Ricardo Manoukian, aged 23, who disappeared on July 22, 1982, was the Puccio family's first known kidnapping victim. Manoukian's family paid a ransom of $250,000; nevertheless, he was later killed with three shots to the neck.[2] He had been introduced to Alejandro Puccio by friends in his neighbourhood, and the two often played tennis and soccer together.[1]
- Engineer Eduardo Aulet was kidnapped on May 5, 1983. Although his family paid $150,000 for his ransom, the Puccios killed him. His body was found four years later.[2]
- Emilio Naum was kidnapped in June 1984 and attempted to resist the kidnapping. He was shot right there, and his body was left in the street.[2]
- Nélida Bollini de Prado, the family's last victim, was kidnapped and held for almost a month. The police detained the kidnappers as the latter attempted to retrieve the ransom; they also detained Alejandro and his girlfriend Monica, who were home[where?] at the time.[2] Bollini de Prado was found and released in a police raid on the Puccio house on 23 August 1985.[1][3]
Punishment
The family was arrested and taken to jail. While awaiting court sentencing, Alejandro tried to commit suicide by jumping from the fifth floor of the courthouse when he was being taken to testify. He survived, however, with serious health complications.
Arquímedes and his two older sons, Alejandro and Daniel, were convicted of the crimes, along with three other accomplices. [1] Arquímedes and Alejandro each received a life sentence, while Daniel was jailed for a number of years.[1]
The youngest son, Guillermo, who had escaped from the family long before they were arrested, avoided justice by leaving the country.[1]
Epifanía Calvo, Silvia, and Adriana were never convicted of any involvement in the crimes.[1]
Accomplices
The Puccios had at least three adult male accomplices. One of them, Rodolfo Victoriano Franco, a retired colonel, is simply referred to as "the Colonel" in the TV mini-series, Historia de un clan[4][5]
Later life
- Alejandro was paroled in 2007 but died of pneumonia at the age of 49, just a year later.[6]
- Arquímedes died of a stroke in 2013, still proclaiming his innocence.[1]
- The location of Daniel, who served only a few years in prison, is unknown.[1]
- Guillermo, who left Argentina in the early 1980s, never returned.[1]
- Silvia, the second eldest child who taught art locally, succumbed to cancer in 2011.[1]
- As of 2015, Epifanía Calvo and Adriana (the youngest child) still own the house in San Isidro where the crimes were perpetrated.[1]
In popular culture
The family and their crimes are the subjects of several works:
- The book, El Ángel Negro (2010), by Rodolfo Palacios[1][7]
- The film, The Clan (2015), starring Guillermo Francella as Arquímedes[1][3]
- The Telefe TV mini-series, Historia de un clan (2015), starring Alejandro Awada[8]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Caselli, Irene (September 3, 2015). "Puccio crime clan continues to intrigue Argentina". BBC News. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ a b c d "Puccio: Qué fue de la vida del clan y quiénes fueron sus víctimas". Perfil (in Spanish). August 18, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Gosselin, Wendy (14 August 2015). "Out Now: El Clan". The Argentina Independent. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
- ^ "Series / Historia De Un Clan". TV Tropes.
- ^ "Nightmare family Puccio returns in gripping film". Buenas Aires Herald. August 13, 2015.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
ψ"BBC"was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Palacios, Rodolfo (May 18, 2010). El Ángel Negro. ISBN 9789870415060.
- ^ Artigas, Martin (September 11, 2015). "Cinco diferencias entre la película y la serie sobre el clan Puccio". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved September 10, 2015.
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