Banda della Uno Bianca

The Banda della Uno Bianca took its name from the white Fiat Uno cars repeatedly associated with crimes committed by the group. Between 1987 and 1994, the gang terrorized parts of Emilia-Romagna and the Marche through a long series of robberies and killings. Several members were serving police officers, a fact that intensified public shock once the group was identified.

The criminal series

Italian retrospectives consistently describe a campaign that left more than one hundred people wounded. The death toll is reported differently across reputable summaries: recent 2026 ANSA coverage of the renewed investigation uses 23 deaths, while some earlier ANSA retrospectives reported 24. This page preserves that discrepancy rather than forcing a single number where the source record is not uniform.

The crimes included armed robberies, attacks on civilians and police, and multiple killings across several provinces. One of the most remembered episodes is the January 1991 Pilastro massacre in Bologna, in which Carabinieri Mauro Mitilini, Andrea Moneta and Otello Stefanini were killed while on duty.

Identification and arrests

The investigation culminated in November 1994. Roberto Savi, then a police officer in Bologna, was arrested first, followed in the same period by his brothers Fabio and Alberto Savi and other members of the group. ANSA's thirtieth-anniversary reconstruction names Pietro Gugliotta, Marino Occhipinti and Luca Vallicelli among those arrested as the organization unraveled.

Convictions

The core group faced lengthy criminal proceedings that produced final convictions. Roberto, Fabio and Alberto Savi and Marino Occhipinti received life sentences for their roles in the gang's most serious crimes. Other defendants received different sentences reflecting their individual conduct.

That distinction matters. For example, ANSA reported in 2026 that Pietro Gugliotta had received a twenty-year sentence for robberies and logistical support, not for the murders. This archive therefore does not flatten every member's criminal responsibility into the same set of offenses.

Why the case is being revisited

Although the convictions of the established gang members are final, questions about whether the entire network was uncovered have persisted among some victims' families. In 2026, prosecutors in Bologna opened or continued a renewed inquiry after a complaint from relatives of victims and new public statements by convicted members.

On June 11, 2026, prosecutors questioned Roberto and Fabio Savi in prison. ANSA reported that the new file was examining the possible existence of additional accomplices or instigators. Those possibilities remain allegations under investigation; they do not undo the final convictions already entered against the known core group.

Timeline

1. 1987
   Crime series begins

   The gang begins a years-long sequence of robberies and violent crimes in northern and central Italy.

2. January 4, 1991
   Pilastro massacre

   Three Carabinieri are killed in Bologna in one of the gang's most notorious crimes.

3. November 1994
   Core members arrested

   Investigators arrest Roberto Savi and, over the following days, the other principal members of the gang.

4. 1990s–2000s
   Trials and final convictions

   The criminal proceedings establish responsibility for the core group and impose life sentences and other penalties according to each defendant's role.

5. June 11, 2026
   Renewed inquiry reaches the Savi brothers

   Bologna prosecutors question Roberto and Fabio Savi while examining claims about possible additional accomplices or instigators.

Current status

The core Uno Bianca gang is solved and adjudicated: its principal members were identified, arrested and finally convicted. A separate 2026 inquiry into whether other people may have assisted or directed some crimes remains open and should not be treated as proof that additional participants existed.