Series | Portobello

ITALY — The six-episode television series Portobello is the latest work by the great Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio. It follows the real-life story of television presenter Enzo Tortora, and his wrongful conviction for drug trafficking. Tortora had been active on Italian radio and television since the 1950s and reached the peak of his popularity as the creator of a TV variety show called Portobello, watched by 28 million viewers every week.

In June 1983 he was arrested during a nationwide raid against the Neapolitan Camorra. In the same raid more than 850 people were arrested across the whole of Italy; Tortora was the most high-profile detainee, and his photograph in handcuffs was published in all the Italian newspapers.

The accusations against him were completely fabricated and his involvement in the investigation came about by chance: the detectives were going through the address book of a Camorra member and found the name « Tortora ». The entry was actually for a Mr Tortona, but this Camorra member probably enjoyed the idea of getting Tortora implicated, so when investigators asked if this was the famous TV personality, he said yes.

The penal code in Italy at the time included a law that said that if three different sources accused one person, that person had to prove their innocence and was otherwise considered guilty. After the huge raid in June, Camorristi were kept in the same police station and could exchange information. After the first accusation, nineteen others mentioned Enzo Tortora’s name. That was the beginning of the end for him.

In September 1985, Tortora was sentenced to ten years in prison, then acquitted of all charges exactly a year later. Sadly, at that point his life and reputation had been destroyed. He returned to his variety show for one last season and died of cancer in May 1988, at the age of 59. 

The absurd but inexorable nature of this miscarriage of justice and the merciless arc of Tortora’s downfall marked Italian culture deeply and contributed to a mistrust of the criminal justice system that continues to this day.