Filippo Sindoni, an Italo-Venezuelan businessman kidnapped and killed by members of the police and National Guard of Venezuela.
One of the most shocking cases in Venezuela. This important businessman of Sicilian origin was loved for the contributions he made to the country. One day, his body was found on the edge of a ravine with a gunshot wound to the head.
WHO WAS FILIPPO SINDONI?
Filippo Sindoni Giardina was born in Capo d’Orlando, Sicily, Italy, in 1933. At the age of 17, he immigrated to Venezuela with his brother Giuseppe. They traveled throughout Venezuela in search of work until they arrived in Maracay, the capital of the state of Aragua.
In 1951, the Sindoni brothers requested a loan from the bank and started a food pasta industry called “La Soberana”, later renaming it “Pastas Sindoni”, which would be the first of a group of brands that currently make up “Empresas Sindoni”.
The Sindoni brothers made the state of Aragua, located in the central region of Venezuela, the birthplace of their projects.
Other outstanding brands of Empresas Sindoni include the newspaper “El Aragüeño”; the chocolate brand “Nucita Venezolana”; the television channel “TVS”; one of the most important commercials in Aragua, “C.C. Las Américas”; and the tallest skyscraper in Aragua, the Sindoni Tower.
It is evident why Filippo Sindoni was so recognized and loved; he founded many projects that boosted the Venezuelan economy and helped the development of the state of Aragua, creating jobs for thousands of Venezuelan families.
KIDNAPPING OF FILIPPO SINDONI
Filippo Sindoni was kidnapped on the night of Tuesday, March 28, 2006, at around 9:30 p.m. on “Las Delicias” avenue, Maracay. He was heading home in his car with his driver.
The car was stopped at a police checkpoint, where four men wearing uniforms from the Aragua Police and carrying firearms were waiting. Once detained, the driver realized what was happening but it was already too late. The fake policemen subdued the driver, who also served as Sindoni’s bodyguard, and stripped him of his 9-mm firearm.
They took the driver out of the car, who received a strong blow to the head, and he went to the Central Hospital of Maracay, where he received medical attention and informed the Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigation Corps (CICPC) that Sindoni had been kidnapped.
While this was happening, Sindoni was put into another car and was being transported to the city of Maracaibo, near the Colombia-Venezuela border. According to sources, they were going to deliver the businessman to the Colombian guerrillas. But they didn’t even make it halfway when the incident that would end the life of Filippo Sindoni occurred.
MURDER OF FILIPPO SINDONI
When they were in the state of Lara, Sindoni tried to talk to his captors and told them that he could pay them more money than they could receive for the kidnapping. The kidnappers didn’t give any response. Then Sindoni addressed one of the kidnappers by his name, Juan Saavedra. That was the event that marked the change of plans.
Juan Carlos Saavedra was a former member of the National Guard and was in charge of transporting Sindoni to the Colombian-Venezuelan border. When Sindoni recognized him, his identity was already compromised, so he decided to kill the businessman and not hand him over to the Colombian guerrillas. The other kidnappers say they tried to persuade Saavedra to accept the money Sindoni was offering and let him live, but Saavedra rejected the offer.
Saavedra took Sindoni to a town in the state of Lara called “Cerro Blanco”, where he drew a revolver, aimed it at his head, and without saying a word, shot the Italian businessman.
The body of the businessman Sindoni was found at dawn on Wednesday by Rafael Alvares, a resident of the town. The body was lying on a slope on the edge of a ravine.
The body of the businessman was taken to his native town in Italy, where he is buried in the Sindoni family vault.
ARREST OF THE KIDNAPPERS
The first person arrested was Carlos Joao de Jesus, in charge of making and receiving calls during the kidnapping and murder.
Sub-Commissioner Víctor José Contreras Belisario, assigned to the Operations Division of the Aragua Police General Command, was then arrested for providing police uniforms and supplies for the fake checkpoint.
Later, Rafael Orlando Lamuño Flores, leader and organizer of the criminal act, was captured. Subsequently, Jose Alejandro Pestana Martinez, the person in charge of transporting Sindoni to the place where he was killed, was arrested.
Finally, Deborah Virginia Estanga Ortega and Charly Terry Hernandez Cardenas, who were accomplices, were arrested. Others involved in the case were Miguel Angel Joao de Jesus and Nestor Orlando Lamuño.
At the time of proceeding with the arrest of the former National Guard Juan Carlos Saavedra Ponte, who was responsible for killing the victim, he had died. Two versions of the incident emerged: Saavedra took his own life to avoid being arrested; or, according to witnesses, Saavedra was killed by members of the CICPC.
Nestor Orlando Lamuño Grudas, who dressed as a policeman and drugged the victim to make him unconscious during the kidnapping, was murdered in Cúcuta, a Colombian city located on the Colombian-Venezuelan border, on April 6, 2006.
All the implicated detainees were sentenced to between 23 and 29 years in prison.
17 YEARS LATER
More than 17 years after his tragic murder, Sindoni’s legacy in Venezuela remains. His companies and projects are among the largest in the country, and he is remembered by all as the great Italo-Venezuelan entrepreneur he was.
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