Luca Alessandro Longobardi

Luca Alessandro Longobardi (born 1969) is an Italian entrepreneur, a former venture capitalist and investment banker. He gained attention for being wrongfully arrested and spending a month in prison in Brazil, during which period he became known as "the mafia's banker". He currently lives in London, where he runs his own restaurant,[3][4][5] 108 Garage. His first foray into hospitality and experience in finance is soon to culminate in a members’ club powered by blockchain, Home Noir.

Luca Alessandro Longobardi
Luca Alessandro Longobardi
Born
Luca Alessandro Longobardi[1]

1969 (age 50–51)
NationalityItalian
Occupation
Home townNaples, Italy[2]
Spouse(s)Maria Joana Parizotto (m. 1999 - div. 2014)

Biography

A native of Naples, Longobardi left home for New York City with $500 at the age of 21 to begin his career.[2][6] He sold shirts in the streets and even spent nights sleeping in Grand Central Station before taking up a job at VTR Capital, a satellite operation of the notorious, now-defunct investment bank Stratton Oakmont, founded by Jordan Belfort. He then worked at Ladenburg Thalmann, another investment bank,[7] before founding his own investment banking group State Capital in 1999, opening offices in Italy, Miami, New York and Brazil.[8]

In August 2010 Longobardi went to the United States consulate in São Paulo to renew his American visa. After the consulate's computer system identified him as a fugitive issued with a Red Notice from Interpol,[9] he was arrested by an FBI agent and a Brazilian policeman, who accused him of laundering money for the Italian mafia;[7][10] he later became known in the press as "the mafia's banker".[11][2][12] While awaiting extradition to Italy, he was placed in a maximum security prison along with notorious criminals such as Colombian drug lord Pablo Rayo Montaño and Italian terrorist Pierluigi Bragaglia. He was cleared of all charges and released in September 2010 after it emerged that there was no reference to the Camorra in any of Longobardi's case files.[8]

Longobardi was an early adopter of cryptocurrency and used Bitcoin as a means to pay the lawyer who secured his release. He realised its value and the potential of the supporting technology, blockchain, almost from inception.

In 2015, Longobardi published a book entitled Branded "The Mafia's Banker" (Italian: Per tutti ero il banchiere dei clan) documenting his experience during his arrest and time in prison.[2] A video promoting the book was released on YouTube on 22 October 2015, reaching over 1 million views and winning the Best Trailer/Promos award for May 2016 at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival.[13][14] In December 2016, Longobardi's film An Italian Food Story won the Best Inspirational Film award at the Los Angeles Film Awards.[15]

On 17 January 2017 it was announced that Longobardi and chef Chris Denney opened their restaurant, 108 Garage, in Notting Hill, West London.[6][3] It has received generally positive reviews from food critics.[16][17][18][19]

Longobardi's next venture, Home Noir, will combine his experience in finance, blockchain and hospitality. Recently featured in Forbes magazine, Longobardi described Home Noir as a members’ club existing physically and digitally with its own currency. Home Noir intends to unleash the power of the collaborative community, empowering progressive minds through blockchain. In early 2019 Home Noir will fundraise with the launch of an ICO (Initial Coin Offering). Participants can purchase Noir tokens in exchange for Bitcoin or Ethereum.[20]

Personal life

Longobardi was married to Maria Joana Parizotto, who was voted Miss Brazil in 1996 and Miss Nuestra Beleza International in 1997.[8] They have 2 daughters: Julia and Raffaella.[11]

gollark: Well, you seem to *generally* not stop if asked, you said so.
gollark: I am at least not too against Nobody, say, finding that someone has some exposed informatiodataæ™ on the internet, and privately telling them so; I *am* against them apparently just saying "ahahahahahaha look at me I have found your information" and refusing to stop.
gollark: I mean, the arguments are pretty similar to the ones about vulnerabilities in network/computery stuff, but generally it's considered nice *there* to *stop doing stuff if the owner tells you to*.
gollark: Oh well!
gollark: I would prefer him to just not at all, or possibly directly bother me about it then stop if I ask.

References
  1. Marco Tullio Martino (26 August 2010). "Nessun riferimento alla camorra nell'ordinanza su Longobardi". Corriere del Mezzogiorno (in Italian). Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  2. Fabio Pozzo (5 February 2016). "Per tutti ero il banchiere dei clan, ma non era vero e ora divento un film". La Stampa (in Italian). Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  3. Hannah Thompson (17 January 2017). "Restaurant from Hambleton Hall chef and "The Mafia's Banker" opens in London". Big Hospitality. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  4. Hannah Thompson (17 January 2017). "Former alleged Mafia conspirator opens Notting Hill restaurant". standard.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  5. Howells, Tom (8 February 2017). "108 Garage". timeout.com. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  6. David Ellis (17 January 2017). "Former alleged Mafia conspirator opens Notting Hill restaurant". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  7. Romani, Riccardo (25 November 2015). "Oltre il buio dell'ala bianca". Vanity Fair (in Italian). No. 46. pp. 125–126.
  8. Fabio Pozzo (7 February 2016). "'Ero il banchiere dei clan', la storia diventa un film". Il Secolo XIX (in Italian). Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  9. Humberto Trezzi (26 August 2010). "Italiano preso por vínculo com máfia atuava no RS" (in Portuguese). ZH Notícias. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  10. https://www.standard.co.uk/business/confessions-from-the-city-luca-longobardi-the-mafias-banker-a3598591.html
  12. Ebrahim Maceria (28 November 2015). "Luca Longobardi: solo un ex banchiere". CDB News (in Italian). Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  13. "BRANDED "THE MAFIA'S BANKER"". Luca Longobardi / YouTube. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  14. "May 2016 Winner". Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  15. "Winners - December 2016". Los Angeles Film Awards. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  16. Fay Maschler (18 January 2017). "Fay Maschler reviews 108 Garage: Pitch-perfect ingenuity in W10". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  17. Giles Coren (21 January 2017). "Giles Coren reviews 108 Garage, London W10". The Times. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  18. Jay Rayner (29 January 2017). "108 Garage, London: restaurant review". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  19. Tony Turnbull (28 January 2017). "The chef discovered on Gumtree". The Times. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  20. "Forbes:'Mafia's Banker' Creates An Elite Members' Club - Via Blockchain". 26 November 2018.
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