A compelling true story following the stranger than fiction events of Giovanni Di Stefano’s .
Witness the highs and lows as he makes his journey in the face of adversity and personal struggles.
Don’t miss a riveting tale of determination, passion, and resilience.
Giovanni Di Stefano was born on July 1, 1955, atop a mountain in the small Italian village of Petrella Tifernina. A wise woman living nearby predicted that he would become either brainy and famous or would die quite soon; fortunately, the latter never occurred. Throughout his roller-coaster life, he has consistently failed to comply, instead doing what he believes is the correct thing to do.
Growing up as a working-class immigrant and forging a path toward a better life, he became the CEO of MGM. He survived war-torn conflicts in Yugoslavia and the Middle East, advised notorious dictators, and represented out-of-favour Presidents. Known as the Devil’s Advocate, he defeated the Crown in several landmark cases of the 20th century.
His gripping story, “The Man with the Golden Glasses,” will soon air, leaving viewers in awe of how one man achieved so much over three decades due to true determination and a keen eye for detail.
This movie opens the door into the unpredictable and exciting rollercoaster life of Giovanni Di Stefano who is known as the ‘Real’ Devil’s Advocate because of his influence and popularity in the international legal justice system. His intellectual brilliance has led to high profile convictions being overturned.
But who is the real Giovanni? Does anyone really know???
This untold insight into Giovanni’s world delves into the complexities of his character exploring various facets of his life.
The element of mystery, unexpected twists and turns makes for compelling viewing.
A Consultant from a large Insurance Company who was impressed with Giovannis letter in the Times contacted him arranging a meeting which they arranged for Wednesday, 17 March 1972, outside the Playboy Club. Obviously, Giovanni had lied about his age at the time, but later he found out he need not have bothered, as his age was already known.
They lunched together at the Dorchester Hotel, London, and Giovanni slightly overwhelmed by the way the conversation, who had started wondering where the meeting was going, as he had been under the impression that it was just about film finance. However, that was not to be – the so-called Consultant talked a little about the film industry before asking Giovanni more about himself! The Consultant was really a scout for a certain covert organisation, he had listened to how Giovanni came across and answered certain questions was impressed and decided Giovanni was one to have on side and made him an offer that took Giovanni totally by surprise.
Giovanni could not refuse if he was going to obtain his aspirations. So, it was on that day Giovanni’s life changed forever, and he did, in effect, sell his whole being in a contract similar to that of Dr Faustus. It was a decision Giovanni has never regretted to this day. His subsequent adventures would take him to every inch of the globe, sometimes having fun, sometimes experiencing pain and tragedy, questioning his very own existence—and so the journey began!
But that day
Giovanni Di Stefano
truly became someone.
Born in a small village in southern Italy, Giovanni relocated to England at the age of six with his mother to join his father who had found work there. Giovanni embarked on his educational journey in a state school, however, Giovanni had other ideas and was determined to enter the local esteemed public school. Through academic brilliance Giovanni achieved his goal for the last part of his education by securing a scholarship into the well sought after Wellingborough school, where he excelled in all subjects, also becoming the head student of music, drama, and sport.
During his school years Giovanni’s passion was drama and music. He wrote film scripts and songs orchestrating the music and forming a rock band ‘Chuck Wills Widow’. He won a slot on a TV show ‘Opportunity Knocks’ with his band, where he met other young aspiring musicians who later became famous.
One of Giovani’s favourite uncles, Zio Enzo, was the personal assistant to a rich and famous film producer in Hollywood, often visiting Italy where they filmed and through his uncle, Giovanni met the famous Ava Gardiner, whom Giovanni remained friends with until the day she died, also George C. Scott to name but a few.
From that first meeting at the age of eight, Giovanni harboured aspirations to one day be part of their world. His dream of becoming part of ‘their world ‘inspired Giovanni to write film scripts leading him to open his own production company ‘Select Pictures’ all before the age of 18. His determination to get one of his scripts produced inspired him to write a letter to the Times about how he was appalled that the UK banks would not finance the film industry. The letter was published early March in The Banker and a week later in The Times in 1972.
After various deployments over ten years, Giovanni’s achievements had been noted, and it was realized that he possessed a very precious gift having the gift to self-teach himself, developing a strong character by turning negativity into positive energy. Hence, in 1988, Giovanni’s ambitions and dreams were realized when he arrived in California.
Giovanni had been introduced to Paretti in 1987, who was impressed with his business acumen and Giovanni upon arriving at the Polo Lounge had an altercation with Paretti which resulted in a misunderstanding. They both socialised together afterwards in the Polo Lounge, and it was that very same day Paretti appointed Giovanni as Senior Executive Vice President to the Board of Pathe Communications Corp, making him second in charge only to Paretti himself. This led to the acquisition of MGM, where Giovanni was appointed CEO.
Giovanni was making a name for himself in the movie industry, but due to CLBN withdrawing credit facilities, he and his associates lost control of MGM at that time, for then.
Determined to protect his assets, Giovanni decided to travel to war-torn Yugoslavia and meet up with his old friend Arkan in Belgrade, whom he had befriended during a chance meeting in London.
Arkan welcomed Giovanni with open arms, seeing him not just as a friend but also as the best assistance amid the tense political situation in Yugoslavia. Arkan created a parliamentary group named the Serb Volunteer Guard (Arkan’s Tigers) and made Giovanni General of the SVG. Their shared passions extended beyond politics to football, and in 1996, they took over a second-division football team, FK Obilić. Giovanni, owner of Campobasso Calcio, brought his club to Belgrade along with TGS Sport TV Italia to attend an exhibition that became a grand celebration between the two football clubs.
In the early 1990s, then-President Milošević became aware of Giovanni’s business and political acumen. He soon befriended Giovanni and made him a close advisor. Giovanni took over a housing development project in Belgrade, under Milošević’s reign, consisting of over 30,000 houses and completed it to the highest standards. Milošević granted Giovanni Yugoslavian nationality and a passport, as he saw it as Giovanni’s right to be a citizen of Yugoslavia recognising him for all the hard work, he had done both legally and politically for the country.
Returning to Italy with his family in the late ’90s, he learned about John ‘Goldfinger’ Palmer’s conviction in the UK for timeshare fraud and a £35 million confiscation order. Not forgetting Palmer’s kindness while on his honeymoon Giovanni’s legal knowledge advised Palmer on how he could help him avoid the £35 million confiscation leading Giovanni to represent van-Hoogstraten, Kenny Noye, Ian Strachan (Royal Blackmail), Ronnie Biggs, Patrick ‘Dutchy’ Holland, Linda Calvey, Jeremy Bamber to name but a few of the highest criminal fraternity internationally.
Giovanni was called to war-torn Iraq, where he witnessed horrific war crimes committed by the UK and US during the unjustified Iraqi conflict. He courageously named and shamed those responsible. He joined the legal team defending members of Saddam Hussein’s regime, including Tariq Aziz, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, and Chemical Ali, among others.
Giovanni assisted Boris Johnson when the police were about to charge him with stealing Tariq Aziz’s cigar case while representing the UK on official business in Iraq. Would Boris have become Mayor and Prime Minister of the UK if Giovanni hadn’t intervened on his behalf? No!
Giovanni orchestrated and wrote music, bought football clubs, and wrote scripts. How did he find the time to do all this while defending the indefensible and advising in war zones? Discover his incredible journey in the amazing roller-coaster movie of Giovanni Di Stefano’s life to date.
It received lots of replies from all over the world, including an invitation by Universal Pictures in Los Angeles to talk to someone from the management. They even sent an airline ticket on Pan American World Airways, London to Los Angeles, with a stopover in New York. Further, they paid for three nights at the Plaza Hotel and a week at the Beverley Wilshire in Los Angeles, where ironically, he met Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach. Giovanni also met the daughter of the owner of ‘Time Magazine,’ and she allowed him to stay at 100 North Swall Drive, Beverley Hills, 90210, the famous zip code. This is a story for another time
First of all, he had to obtain a visa from the American Embassy in London. How could he achieve this in such a short time? Arriving at the American Embassy he discreetly crumpled a five-pound note into the hands of the usher outside, which put him first in line of the queue and the visa was immediately issued. However, to get on the flight he had to have a vaccination certificate which meant he had to see Dr Brooks, at Irchester Health Clinic, to quickly inoculate him and give Giovanni the much-needed certificate to fly to America. Even though he hated needles, and still does to this day, this was one opportunity he was not going to miss out on. Taking deep breathes, eyes closed, dreaming away about LA he had the vaccination. Although it hurt like hell the pain was worth it when the Dr handed him the certificate which would allow him to board the flight.
Upon landing at New York Kennedy Airport, he took a cab to the Plaza Hotel where everything was waiting for him and anyone who knows anything about movie companies’ boy do they spoil you. Giovanni took full advantage of this not only in the delights of being pampered to every need, whim, etc, but also gaining as many useful contacts as he could for any future requirements he may have needed.
Three days later he flew to Los Angeles and checked in at the Beverley Wilshire Hotel. On the third day, unfortunately, he ended up in a fracas at the bar. Thinking he was John Wayne rescuing a dame, there was an altercation which resulted in a person having a broken jaw. Needless to say, the Sheriff was called, and Giovanni was arrested and spent one night in Los Angeles Police Department holding cell which was basically, a cage in an office.
Giovanni was told by the detective that he would be sentenced by a Judge, and once he had spent a while in jail he would be ultimately deported. Not a good start, and not conducive to what he went to America for. As the detective walked away with a smirk on his face, Giovanni turned away thinking “how am I going to get out of this one?” Suddenly he shuddered. ‘His mother’ came into his thoughts, the last thing he needed was for her to find out about this. He was more scared of her than the police, judge, or jail. Another thought came into his mind. He contacted his uncle who worked for De Laurentiis, a massive film producer in New York, to explain what had happened and asked him to make sure that his wife (Giovanni’s aunty) did not get wind of what he had done, as she would definitely tell his mother. His Uncle understood, even though he gave him a slight flea in his ear for getting himself in that position. He did however assure him he would make sure neither women would get sniff of his dilemma, as his uncle had also been on the end of Giovanni’s mother’s wrath, at one time or another, and would not wish that on anyone.
Placing the phone back in the receiver before handing it to the policeman he sat in the small cage feeling relieved that he had taken care of the most important matter making sure his mother would not find out what had happened. Now he had a clear head to think on what to do to get out of this miserable situation. He started reliving memories of times gone by with his family in Italy, and he remembered a story about his great grandfather Salvatore Di Lisio had told him shortly before he died. He was his mother’s grandfather, and frankly he had little to do with him because his life was perhaps more controversial than Giovanni’s. His grandfather also had an altercation with someone, but in his home village in Italy not thousands and thousands of miles away in America. However, funnily enough, at that time his great grandfather also had a great escape in the USA where he also took refuge leaving Italy urgently and setting up in Newport where he played a leading hand in setting up the ‘black hand.’
Giovanni remembered being told how his great grandfather came back from America shortly after the first world war with lots of money and bought lots of land around the village. A couple of years later in 1921 he then went back to the USA for reasons that were never quite clear. In October of 1921 he boarded a brand-new ship called the Vincenzo Florio which had been commissioned the year previously and went from Naples to Genoa and on to Ellis Island, where it cleared immigration and then on to Newport. Giovanni remembered his great grandfather telling him that on his arrival at the port there was a young lad around approximately 18 or 19 years of age who had approached him asking for some small money, and would he tell the authorities they were travelling together when they boarded the ship. This, my great grandfather happily obliged. On the journey my great grandfather spoke at length with this young man, and they agreed that once they cleared customs at Ellis Island, and since his great grandfather had already been to America, he would inform the immigration officers that the young man was his cousin and they then moved on to Newport. Arriving at Newport the young man had thanked Giovanni’s great, grandfather before travelling on to New York. The young lad stayed in touch with his great grandfather right until the day his great grandfather died. After that his grandmother every year in October would receive a symbolic bank note with a thank you card. She never really knew what it was all about but was grateful for the US dollars.
Back in the cage in Los Angeles police department remembering his great grandfather’s story and the name of the young lad, who would be a much older man by now, he asked one of the deputies to bring him a New York phone book and found an entry of a man living in Brooklyn in a place called Sheepshead Bay. Having no idea who the man really was at that time, and desperate for help he took a chance and decided to phone him.
When the phone had answered Giovanni asked to speak to the man and he was asked by who answered the phone, who he was, and he informed him “I am Giovanni Di Stefano the great grandson of Salvatore Di Liso.” Two minutes later, another man came on the phone and surprisingly asked him, “what year did his great-grandfather last go to America?” Giovanni replied that it was the early 1920s but could not remember the precise date, but then went on to say that his great grandfather’s daughter receives a card annually. The man who Giovanni was speaking to passed him yet over to another man who told him to wait two hours and then he would be released, and that he was to take an immediate flight to New York. He told Giovanni to go to the TWA desk to get his ticket and he would be picked up at La Guardia airport.
True to the man’s word Giovanni was released just under two hours later. He made his way to Los Angeles airport and at around 4pm he took what is called the “red eye” flight to New York, where in the morning he was met by a small guy with dark glasses and a black hat who escorted Giovanni to a Cadillac before driving him to Brooklyn.
They waited outside an apartment block until about 9.30, and Giovanni was shown into a room where there were sofas, and a card table. A pale smallish man with a beaky nose went to greet him and gave Giovanni the usual two kisses on the cheek and asked him to sit down before asking if he knew how to play “tre sette” and “scopa”. Nodding his head happily in the affirmative they played the first game for about fifteen minutes and during that time he told Giovanni that his great grandfather was a great man who was ready to lie for him. You need to remember that Giovanni had no idea who this man was and more, the apartment was nothing out of the ordinary. He carried on telling him how it was thanks to his great grandfathers lie to the immigration that he had made something of himself.
He carried on telling Giovanni that the 1930s and the 1940s were very good years for him but that he only came to make money in the 1950s. They carried on playing cards and a story he told Giovanni always, still to this day, sticks in his mind.
“In life you need to be half lion, half fox, saying that lions scare away any dangers around, and foxes know where all the traps are, so being half of each you won’t go wrong in life.”
A very heavy-set tall man who he called Paul came into the room and the man introduced Paul to Giovanni explaining that he was his brother-in-law and cousin. Giovanni also remembered him telling Giovanni that he was ill, but he did not trust doctors and only God knew how you were.
Continuing playing cards, Giovanni got the impression he let him win. Giovanni decided to ask him what he did? And “how did he get him out of that mess from 3,000 miles away?” He told him he was a consultant to industry, and carried on telling Giovanni, that in life you must always have good lawyers and how in the late 1930s he’d been convicted of an alcohol related offence, but hiring top lawyers the conviction was overturned on appeal, because the government had used an illegal wiretap. He smiled as he continued telling Giovanni that only using technicalities can get you free.
He also told Giovanni that in the 1940s he made money on the black market during the war. Laughing he told Giovanni he sold ration cards by bribing officials. Then he put his index finger up waving and said not to be greedy in life, informing Giovanni that on every 100 dollars he only took 3 dollars. He told Giovanni a phrase that he’s never forgotten and often uses, “if you eat the whole cake, you get sick.”
Playing cards with the man was one of the most surreal experiences in Giovanni Di Stefanos life. He never heard any more about what he did in Los Angeles but if there was any record of it, it vanished.
Two years later that man died with a hundred-million-dollar fortune. His name was Carlo Gambino, better known as the boss of all bosses.
Contact: info@opcglobalinproduction.com
“Giovanni is a person of strong character who turns negativity into a positive energy setting himself in a good direction!”
31 May 2002 – ITN ENGLAND: London: INTERVIEW: Giovanni Di Stefano (Jeremy Bamber’s lawyer) interviewed: –
“Prison service & prison staff are undermanned, underpaid, under-rated, underdeveloped – it’s something Secretary of State needs to pay attention to – Not enough prison officers, not paid properly, not being trained.”
Source: Getty Images
