Italy’s civil aviation authority has suspended the licence of a helicopter pilot who flew low over Rome to drop flower petals during the over-the-top funeral of a purported local crime boss that has outraged city residents.
The funeral yesterday of Vittorio Casamonica featured a gilded, horse-drawn carriage carrying the coffin and a band playing the theme music from The Godfather outside the Rome church.
Civil aviation authority ENAC said it was suspending the licence of the pilot as a precaution, given that single-engine helicopters are prohibited from flying over the capital.
ENAC said the helicopter flew below the 1,000ft (330m) limit and violated regulations by tossing objects - flower petals - out of its hold without authorisation.
Italian politicians denounced the ostentatious send-off for Casamonica (65) and called on the interior ministry to explain whether it had given special permits for the ceremony.
An ornate hearse pulled by six black-plumed horses carried Mr Casamonica’s body to a Roman Catholic basilica in the Rome suburbs, where a funeral Mass was celebrated.
“You have conquered Rome, now conquer paradise,” said a poster strung up on the gates of the church. “King of Rome,” proclaimed another.
The Casamonica clan has been accused of racketeering, extortion and usury. Rome city hall said on Thursday that Mr Casamonica was the subject of “many investigations into Roman criminality”.
“Never again. Rome cannot be defaced by those who want it to became the set of the Godfather,” Matteo Orfini, president of the ruling Democratic Party, wrote on Twitter.
The hard-left SEL party called on interior minister Angelino Alfano to explain how such a funeral could take place.
“These funerals might seem like a folkloric custom, but in reality, they send a clear message of impunity on the part of the clans: we still exist and we are powerful,” SEL politicians Arturo Scotto and Celeste Costantino wrote in a statement.
“That is unacceptable in a democratic state.”
There was no immediate comment from the interior ministry. PA/Reuters