The Italian Unabomber was an unknown terrorist that committed a series of bombings in the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giuliaregions of Italy from 1994 to 2006. The Italian Unabomber placed small booby-trapped objects in public spaces in Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia which were designed to detonate when handled by a passerby and seriously injure but not kill the victim. The Italian Unabomber was named by the international press in reference to Ted Kaczynski, the AmericanNeo-Luddite terrorist and mail bomber known as the "Unabomber", but the Italian bomber made no political or economic demands. Over 20 explosive devices were attributed to the Italian Unabomber and resulted in numerous people receiving injuries including the removal of digits and limbs. On August 28, 2006, Italian police raided the house of Elvo Zornitta, a 49-year-old engineer, who had been under surveillance for a year with assistance from the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation. In January 2009, after years of investigations, the case was dropped after the prosecutors asked for its dismissal, for lack of evidence. Zornitta received €2,500,000 as compensation for his arrest and trial which included false evidence.
Timeline of attacks
1994
August 21, 1994
*The first attack attributed to the bomber occurred during a bird parade attended by 50,000 in Sacile. Four people sustained minor cuts from debris scattered by the crude bomb planted on the ground.
*A bomb explodes after it is placed inside a tube of tomato sauce, on sale at the 'Continente' supermarket in Portogruaro, seriously injuring a woman in the left hand.
November 17, 2001
*A bomb is discovered inside a mayonnaise sauce tube by an alarmed customer and safely defused by bomb disposal technicians in Portogruaro.
2002
July 23, 2002
*A bomb is discovered in the supermarket 'Iperstanda' inside a Nutella jar and safely defused by bomb disposal technicians in Porcia.
September 2, 2002
*A child was injured when opening a bottle of soap-bubble solution in Pordenone.
* An unnamed woman from near Venice discovered an unusually heavy and hard tube of mayonnaise she had bought in a supermarket. Police discovered a primitive explosive device within the tube.
* A man reported to police that an egg he had bought at a local market had been tampered with. No injuries. The Italian police found a hair and traces of saliva in adhesive tape on the egg box and extracted a DNA sample.
*A bomb explodes when placed inside a flush toilet at the Justice building in Pordenone.
April 25, 2003
* Two girls in San Biagio di Callalta were injured when they handled a booby-trapped marking pen. One nine-year-old lost three fingers and suffered injuries to her eye.
2004
April 2, 2004
*A bomb is discovered inside a church in Portogruaro and safely defused by bomb disposal technicians.
2005
January 26, 2005
*A Kinder egg placed in the street in Treviso exploded when opened by passing schoolchildren. Such eggs usually contain a toy or prize. None of the children were harmed. The attack took place near the Treviso court house, and so may have been designed to taunt investigators there.
March 13, 2005
*Three children were injured when one attempted to light an electrical votive candle during Mass at the church in Motta di Livenza. The girl inserted coins and turned a handle to operate the candle when a small bomb exploded, injuring her left hand and two bystanders.
March 16, 2005
*One Italian Unabomber-style bomb was found in a small fish box in a humanitarian supply box sent to Romania from the village of Concordia Sagittaria. The bomb did not explode due to a low battery charge.
July 9, 2005
*An unexploded bomb was found under the seat of a female's pushbike in Portogruaro, which had been left for several days in front of a train station. The bomb probably did not explode due to an electrical malfunction in the bomb's battery, caused by intense rain in the preceding days.
2006
May 6, 2006
* Massimiliano Bozzo, a 28-year-old nurse from Mestre, walking with his girlfriend near the mouth of the river Livenza, found a bottle apparently containing a message. The bottle also contained an explosive device which exploded damaging his left hand, with consequent loss of his thumb.
2009
January
*Italian Unabomber suspect Elvo Zornitta is acquitted.
