Church annuls “Mafia” marriage
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from September 1994.
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News reports said the man, Carmelo Meola, then 17, had no intention of marrying Filomena Scaglione, 16 at the time, but did so only out of fear for his family.
The Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera said it may have been the first time that an annulment was granted in Sicily on grounds of "violence and fear."
The marriage took place in 1977 and Meola filed for the annulment after his father-in-law was killed in a gangland rivalry in 1982.
The reports said the annulment was actually granted in 1987 but it came to light this week when lawyers for Meola's family disclosed it in a court case involving his father, a prominent builder. The father was accused of association with the Mafia and the lawyers used the annulment to show that the family had no connection with the mob but was its victim.
