Joseph Joe Bevilacqua: Monster of Florence and Zodiac?

[Romulus]

Joe Bevilacqua. Documented biography

Retired Army sergeant and former ABMC officer’s in Italy career. Downloadable records.

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The Monster of Florence is the Zodiac Killer

Below, the translation of the first article (slightly revised) on the Monster-Zodiac connection. It was published in three parts on tempi.it between 19 and 21 May 2018, and then in full on May 23, …

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Clues on the Monster of Florence leads to the American Cemetery

By Francesco Amicone Source: Libero, April 23, 2021 Correction: In this article I state that the investigation into Giuseppe alias Joseph Bevilacqua were ongoing. In reality, the murder proceeding …

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The admission of “Ulysses”

By Francesco Amicone Source: Il Giornale, May 29, 2018 (update – 2020) He did not turn himself into the police «to keep others out of troubles». A retired American soldier admitted his…

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Deceptions and mistakes. Zodiac Killer’s shadow in the Monster of Florence case

By Francesco Amicone Source: Libero, May 4, 2021 Correction: I state in the article that the investigation into Giuseppe alias Joseph Bevilacqua conducted by the Florence DA’s office was ongo…

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“Paradice”, the keyword that reveals Zodiac’s 408-cipher last mystery

The last part of the serial killer’s first cipher is a mocking joke that alludes to his identity. Also with Italian words.

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Joe Bevilacqua. Zodiac Killer’s name decrypted

Link to the current version

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Mt. Diablo Code. Zodiac’s bomb beside a police station in San Leandro

Original post from 2020 (link) On March 19, 2019, the first version of this solution dating back to 2018 (mentioned here) was attached by me as a supplement of the complaint on “Joe Bevilacqu…

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Zodiac’s Halloween riddle and “The cuckoo’s game”

Original post from 2020 (link) The main solution of the riddle, played on the assonance between “Q” and “cu” in Italian, dates back to 2017. I solved it before the talks wit…

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My question: i wanted to understand if in the USA there has ever been talk of Joseph Joe Bevilacqua as a possible Zodiac?

 

[Romulus]

A video recap

 

[digiskunk]

I'm going to admit outright despite not knowing all of the alleged information: I don't believe there's a connection.

I feel this way because there are billions upon billions of people in the world and to find somebody comparable the Zodiac in a foreign country is not unusual. In fact, this theory implies that he was Italian and relocated—and this is where the theory loses me.

If the Zodiac was so concerned about concealing his identity and not being caught, he wouldn't have corresponded with the authorities to begin with. I just find it difficult to believe that he'd "get nervous enough about being caught" (despite no leads) so he decided to "keep up with his work" elsewhere. This also implies that he was Italian, but I don't have much of an opinion on that outside of doubt.

This theory reminds me of H.H. Holmes being Jack the Ripper. No offense to those who humor that theory, but I just find it unrealistic. If you're looking for a connection to Jack, the Thames Torso Murderer is pretty spot-on—not H.H. But I regress; I'm getting off-topic here.

 

[Romulus]

In fact, this theory implies that he was Italian and relocated—and this is where the theory loses me.

Bevilacqua is american not italian, is born in Totowa, New Jersey, in 1935 Joe Bevilacqua’s official biographical records

 

[digiskunk]

Oooh, thank you for this correction. This makes sense to me: I live in the Greater Philadelphia area and we have a lot of Italian-American families in the tristate area—especially recent generations whose family made the trek about two generations ago. A great amount of these families hold onto (and are proud) of their Italian heritage, so it goes without saying they're often closely-knit, whether as a family or community at large. I'm still not convinced but I definitely understand your point now!

 

[fred&edna]

DBM

 

[Romulus]

I had to look twice at this thread when I saw the Bevilacqua name. Is/was he related to the RI judge mentioned in these news reports?

Chief justice kept close ties to mob friends

and another report

Joseph Bevilacqua; Judge Tied to Rhode Island Mob

Joseph A.

www.latimes.com

Judge Bevilacqua aided the gang associated with this UID's murder. I've been following the case for a long time.

Identified! - CT - Stonington (Ledyard), WhtFem UP8909, 18-30, JNHS 1917 Class Ring, Lady Clairol hair roller set, May'74 - Linda Sue Childers

Since we can't find a J N High school (from that time period), I'm wondering if the "n" stood for normal, so the school would be Jxxx Normal High School, which probably was renamed sometime between when the ring was purchased and then later found with the victim. For example, the J could have...

www.websleuths.com

I do not believe...

Giuseppe Bevilacqua, nicknamed “Joe“, was born in Totowa, New Jersey, on December 20, 1935, into an Italian-American family.
In 1954, Bevilacqua was drafted into the Army and transferred to Germany. A few years later, he became a CBR chemical instructor, a specialty he performed until 1964, when he joined the 5th Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Military Police in Leghorn, Italy.
During the time of the Zodiac murders/letters (1966-1974 circa), Bevilacqua worked as an undercover detective with the Army CID. This information comes from Bevilacqua himself and other subjects that are not mentioned here according to the ethic rules of journalism on source protection.

In 1968, Bevilacqua was assigned to Vietnam. Decorations obtained: Silver Star, Bronze Star, Soldier’s Medal, Purple Heart.
Bevilacqua’s military ID card says he was 5′ 8” tall (the same as Zodiac according to four eyewitnesses), in the 90s. Also, he was about 200 pounds weight, like the serial killer. His stocky body and prominent stomach were two characteristics that would have accompanied him into old age. Bevilacqua had thick, dark, crew cut hair, which will be dyed white starting in the 1980s. His appearance matched the witnesses’ testimonies on Zodiac with the partial exception of the hair which was described differently after every known sights (use of wigs, possibly).
In the end of June 1974, Bevilacqua retired from the Army with the rank of first sergeant and settled in the American Cemetery and Memorial of Florence, Italy, working with the ABMC as superintendent trainee of the cemetery.
While Bevilacqua stayed in Florence, the serial killer of couples nicknamed “Monster” killed 14 boys in the countryside surrounding the Tuscan city. Most of the crimes took place less than half an hour’s drive from the American cemetery.

Three years circa after the Monster’s last known crime, in 1989, the ABMC transferred Bevilacqua to Nettuno, near Rome. He was then called to testify in the Pacciani trial on the last double murder of the Monster, which had taken place about three hundred yards as the crow flies from his home, in 1985.
Bevilacqua said to the Court he saw the defendant and the victims a few days before their death. He made a serious mistake, claiming to have learned of the murders the day after the crime, when the news had not yet been disclosed.
Retired since 2010, married and with three adult daughters, Bevilacqua currently lives in a suburb of Florence.
In 2017, after a few meetings for a project on his biography, he admitted to me his responsibility in the murders of the Zodiac and the Monster cases.
In 2018, I made a complaint to the police and published the first article on Bevilacqua’s involvement in serial crimes. You can read it and the others here on the blog.

1953, Marines
The first official public record attesting to Joe Bevilacqua’s military career is a Marine Corps muster roll of 1953, where his name is present.

1954 – 1974, Army
The Official Military Personnel File is a form hold by the National Personnel Records Center that contains basic information on each American soldier. For example, list of assignments, medals, as well as other material on his military career, which, however, cannot be requested by people other than the veteran, heirs or by the law enforcement.
Some information in the OMPF could be released upon request under the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA).

I make available the reader the excerpts from Bevilacqua’s OMPF that I received for the second time from the NPRC in 2019.
The absence of references to California in Bevilacqua’s list of public assignments is explainable. For his own admission, since 1966, due to his undercover activity, his real assignments in the detachments of the Army Criminal Investigation (since 1971, Army Criminal Investigation Command) which he would left in June 1974 are not reported.
Beyond its incompleteness, the list of assignments does not contain “alibi”. The presence of two assignments at units located in Vietnam, in 1968, and in Germany, in 1970, does not exclude transfers for work or licenses to San Francisco on the dates in which Zodiac committed a murder (December 20, 1968) and sent a few letters, starting from a postcard dated April 28, 1970.
Through an examination of the Pan Am schedules, there are no particular difficulties in reaching the Californian city from the areas where Bevilacqua was assigned, that is, from Saigon and Frankfurt, on those dates.

In 1971, Zodiac stopped writing for three years, which roughly corresponds to the period of Bevilacqua’s assignment to Camp Darby, Italy (1971-1974). The last letter attributed by the police to the serial killer was sent on January 29, 1974, five months before Bevilacqua’s retirement from the army.

The list of assignments also contains some transcription mistakes (“USA” instead of “USAREUR” – US Army Europe, for example).
Bevilacqua’s list of assignments is not the original but an end-of-career transcript. It can be deduced from the fact that it was compiled by the same typewriter, while the original one, compiled at each assignment, should have looked like the one at this link.

1974 – 2010, American Battle Monuments Commission
Official records from the US agency that manages monumental war cemeteries, the ABMC, attest that Bevilacqua began working and residing in the American Cemetery in Florence from July 1, 1974 until 1988, when he was transferred to Nettuno.
According to the annual reports of the ABMC, both in the days of the Borgo San Lorenzo crime, in 1974, and in 1981, when the Monster started the wave of his murders of the 1980s, there were no American official other than Bevilacqua that resided in the cemetery.

It's hard work I know, but you have to open the links I posted to you to read everything and understand better.

The documents and links are all by the Italian journalist Francesco Amicone, I posted them so they are discussed.

 

[fred&edna]

I do not believe...

Giuseppe Bevilacqua, nicknamed “Joe“, was born in Totowa, New Jersey, on December 20, 1935, into an Italian-American family.
In 1954, Bevilacqua was drafted into the Army and transferred to Germany. A few years later, he became a CBR chemical instructor, a specialty he performed until 1964, when he joined the 5th Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Military Police in Leghorn, Italy.
During the time of the Zodiac murders/letters (1966-1974 circa), Bevilacqua worked as an undercover detective with the Army CID. This information comes from Bevilacqua himself and other subjects that are not mentioned here according to the ethic rules of journalism on source protection.

In 1968, Bevilacqua was assigned to Vietnam. Decorations obtained: Silver Star, Bronze Star, Soldier’s Medal, Purple Heart.
Bevilacqua’s military ID card says he was 5′ 8” tall (the same as Zodiac according to four eyewitnesses), in the 90s. Also, he was about 200 pounds weight, like the serial killer. His stocky body and prominent stomach were two characteristics that would have accompanied him into old age. Bevilacqua had thick, dark, crew cut hair, which will be dyed white starting in the 1980s. His appearance matched the witnesses’ testimonies on Zodiac with the partial exception of the hair which was described differently after every known sights (use of wigs, possibly).
In the end of June 1974, Bevilacqua retired from the Army with the rank of first sergeant and settled in the American Cemetery and Memorial of Florence, Italy, working with the ABMC as superintendent trainee of the cemetery.
While Bevilacqua stayed in Florence, the serial killer of couples nicknamed “Monster” killed 14 boys in the countryside surrounding the Tuscan city. Most of the crimes took place less than half an hour’s drive from the American cemetery.

Three years circa after the Monster’s last known crime, in 1989, the ABMC transferred Bevilacqua to Nettuno, near Rome. He was then called to testify in the Pacciani trial on the last double murder of the Monster, which had taken place about three hundred yards as the crow flies from his home, in 1985.
Bevilacqua said to the Court he saw the defendant and the victims a few days before their death. He made a serious mistake, claiming to have learned of the murders the day after the crime, when the news had not yet been disclosed.
Retired since 2010, married and with three adult daughters, Bevilacqua currently lives in a suburb of Florence.
In 2017, after a few meetings for a project on his biography, he admitted to me his responsibility in the murders of the Zodiac and the Monster cases.
In 2018, I made a complaint to the police and published the first article on Bevilacqua’s involvement in serial crimes. You can read it and the others here on the blog.

1953, Marines
The first official public record attesting to Joe Bevilacqua’s military career is a Marine Corps muster roll of 1953, where his name is present.

1954 – 1974, Army
The Official Military Personnel File is a form hold by the National Personnel Records Center that contains basic information on each American soldier. For example, list of assignments, medals, as well as other material on his military career, which, however, cannot be requested by people other than the veteran, heirs or by the law enforcement.
Some information in the OMPF could be released upon request under the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA).

I make available the reader the excerpts from Bevilacqua’s OMPF that I received for the second time from the NPRC in 2019.
The absence of references to California in Bevilacqua’s list of public assignments is explainable. For his own admission, since 1966, due to his undercover activity, his real assignments in the detachments of the Army Criminal Investigation (since 1971, Army Criminal Investigation Command) which he would left in June 1974 are not reported.
Beyond its incompleteness, the list of assignments does not contain “alibi”. The presence of two assignments at units located in Vietnam, in 1968, and in Germany, in 1970, does not exclude transfers for work or licenses to San Francisco on the dates in which Zodiac committed a murder (December 20, 1968) and sent a few letters, starting from a postcard dated April 28, 1970.
Through an examination of the Pan Am schedules, there are no particular difficulties in reaching the Californian city from the areas where Bevilacqua was assigned, that is, from Saigon and Frankfurt, on those dates.

In 1971, Zodiac stopped writing for three years, which roughly corresponds to the period of Bevilacqua’s assignment to Camp Darby, Italy (1971-1974). The last letter attributed by the police to the serial killer was sent on January 29, 1974, five months before Bevilacqua’s retirement from the army.

The list of assignments also contains some transcription mistakes (“USA” instead of “USAREUR” – US Army Europe, for example).
Bevilacqua’s list of assignments is not the original but an end-of-career transcript. It can be deduced from the fact that it was compiled by the same typewriter, while the original one, compiled at each assignment, should have looked like the one at this link.

1974 – 2010, American Battle Monuments Commission
Official records from the US agency that manages monumental war cemeteries, the ABMC, attest that Bevilacqua began working and residing in the American Cemetery in Florence from July 1, 1974 until 1988, when he was transferred to Nettuno.
According to the annual reports of the ABMC, both in the days of the Borgo San Lorenzo crime, in 1974, and in 1981, when the Monster started the wave of his murders of the 1980s, there were no American official other than Bevilacqua that resided in the cemetery.

It's hard work I know, but you have to open the links I posted to you to read everything and understand better.

The documents and links are all by the Italian journalist Francesco Amicone, I posted them so they are discussed.

Thank you! I became distracted by the name and the NJ info. I deleted my post so not to confuse others.

 

[Romulus]

 

[Romulus]

Joe Bevilacqua’s DNA profile sent to the US authorities

In November 2023, I finally managed to send Bevilacqua’s genetic profile to the US law enforcement agencies in charge of the Zodiac Killer case.

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