Italian police have opened a new investigation into Mario Pianesi, an influential businessman celebrated as a guru of macrobiotic food, over allegations that he might have killed his first wife by putting her on an extreme form of his “Ma-Pi” diet.
Gabriella Monti died in 2001, two months after being diagnosed with acute hepatitis caused by aflatoxins, a fungal poison sometimes found in grain or nuts.
Monti had had a stroke in 1997, after which she was cared for at home by her husband.
Pianesi had built up a following of thousands of customers who believed that his cereals-based diet could cure serious illnesses.
Police said that the diet might have exacerbated Monti’s already fragile state, leading to her death.
“Instead of curing her with traditional medicine, he tried to cure her at home with the diet,” investigator Carlo Pinto told reporters.
Pianesi, 74, is accused of keeping his wife’s illness hidden; he allegedly allowed few people to visit her. He is also suspected of trying to “eradicate proof” by exhuming her remains in 2013 and cremating them.
The new allegations emerged during an investigation into claims that Pianesi cultivated what police describe as a “macrobiotic sect” that manipulated people, denied them contact with the outside world and reduced them to slavery.
The investigation began in 2013, when a young woman whose weight had plummeted to 35kg told police that Pianesi had promised her that his diet would cure her illness.
Others came forward claiming Pianesi that wielded power over those who had worked for his empire, a network of macrobiotic product hubs and restaurants, gradually leading them to lose control over their lives.
Pianesi and his second wife, Loredana Volpi, along with two representatives of his Un Punto Macrobiotico (UPM) Association, were exposed in March and are to stand trial over the sect allegations.
His lawyers said in a statement that the latest allegations constituted “a description of facts that appear to be the fruit of rumors and conjectures.”
Pianesi started to make bold claims about his diet, modeled on the teachings of Japanese philosopher George Ohsawa, in the early 1990s. Many people, particularly those diagnosed with HIV, attended his seminars in the hope of finding a cure.
It is alleged that Pianesi tried to keep Monti’s death quiet because he feared people would believe his diet had failed; some of his followers had given up treatment for cancer in the hope of being cured by his food formula.
When news of the death came out, he allegedly told an audience of more than 100 people that it was their fault.
“He accused us of killing her, as he was unable to devote time to care for her because he was dealing with our problems,” said Gilbert Casaburi, a former chef within UPM.
The couple’s two sons defended their father in a local newspaper interview, saying that they “lived under the same roof” and “ate the same food” as their mother.
They also said that their mother had not been “segregated” and that it was her choice not to have heart surgery after the stroke.
Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Sosoaca, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll. Earlier this month, Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau barred Calin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40 percent ahead of the rerun election. Georgescu, a fierce EU and NATO critic, shot to prominence in November last year when he unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting. However, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference and a “massive” social media promotion in his favor. On Saturday, an electoral commission statement
Chinese authorities increased pressure on CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd over its plan to sell its Panama ports stake by sharing a second newspaper commentary attacking the deal. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Saturday reposted a commentary originally published in Ta Kung Pao, saying the planned sale of the ports by the Hong Kong company had triggered deep concerns among Chinese people and questioned whether the deal was harming China and aiding evil. “Why were so many important ports transferred to ill-intentioned US forces so easily? What kind of political calculations are hidden in the so-called commercial behavior on the
‘DOWNSIZE’: The Trump administration has initiated sweeping cuts to US government-funded media outlets in a move critics said could undermine the US’ global influence US President Donald Trump’s administration on Saturday began making deep cuts to Voice of America (VOA) and other government-run, pro-democracy programming, with the organization’s director saying all VOA employees have been put on leave. On Friday night, shortly after the US Congress passed its latest funding bill, Trump directed his administration to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law. That included the US Agency for Global Media, which houses Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia and Radio Marti, which beams Spanish-language news into Cuba. On Saturday morning, Kari Lake, a former Arizona gubernatorial and US
Indonesia’s parliament yesterday amended a law to allow members of the military to hold more government roles, despite criticisms that it would expand the armed forces’ role in civilian affairs. The revision to the armed forces law, pushed mainly by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s coalition, was aimed at expanding the military’s role beyond defense in a country long influenced by its armed forces. The amendment has sparked fears of a return to the era of former Indonesian president Suharto, who ex-general Prabowo once served and who used military figures to crack down on dissent. “Now it’s the time for us to ask the
RSS