A jailed former Dundee FC director has demanded a move to an Italian prison amid complaints that British prisons are full of thieves.
Convicted fraudster Giovanni di Stefano who as a bogus lawyer represented Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milosevic and was dubbed the Devil’s Advocate is serving a 22-year jail term for a string of offences including deception and money laundering.
In a remarkable jail cell outburst, di Stefano repeatedly complains about standards at British jails saying they are jam-packed with thieves, are not as clean as German prisons and have too many SNORERS.
The Italian bleats: “I’d rather serve a 100 years in my own country than one day here.”
The conman whose other notorious clients included Dr Harold Shipman is banged up in HMP Wandsworth, London.
He reveals he “envies” teary new prisoner, shamed publicist Max Clifford, 71, who has a single room in segregation after he was caged in May over sex offences.
And, in another astonishing outburst, di Stefano whinges after stamps he needed to send letters were nicked from his cell, writing: “Place is full of thieves.”
The letters he sends to a confidant have been posted on an online blog.
The 58-year-old, who says he whiles away the hours watching football and Italian TV station RAI, adds: “The prisoner in my cell was in a German prison for four years he says the jails there are like doctor surgeries, immaculately clean.
“People take more pride there than here.”
Di Stefano, who acted for Moors murderer Ian Brady in his attempts to get sent to die in a Scottish jail instead of dying in England, frequently complains about staffing levels in the London jails he has been moved between in recent months.
He says if his request for a prisoner transfer to Italy is unsuccessful, he will fight for a judicial review.
Di Stefano writes: “The place here runs solely on the goodwill of the officers no more, no less. The staff do what they can, but what can they do? How I wish I could represent them collectively because things are not fair on the front-line.”
The conman also blasts jail bosses for not giving internet access to cons.
He writes: “I do feel that reasonable internet should not be denied. It’s enough that prisons have colour flat-screen TVs, DVDs and Playstations I guess.”
And di Stefano, who claims to have been friends with Clifford before the pair ended up in jail, says the snoring of his cell-mates is one of his biggest bugbears.
Of the habit that keeps him awake at night, he says: “One of the disadvantages of having to share a room is one has to tolerate the ‘annoyances’ of life and the sleeping habits of the person I am with.”
In March, eight years was heaped on to di Stefano’s already 14-year sentence after he refused to pay the victims of his legal fraud £1.4 million.
The bogus lawyer moved to the UK when he was just six.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said they were unable to discuss prisoner transfer requests.
Di Stefano on…
Saddam Hussein: Di Stefano revealed To Kill A Mockingbird was the ruthless dictator’s favourite book. The bogus lawyer famously acted for him.
Luciano Pavarotti: Di Stefano wondered if the singing star died naturally or was killed.
Malcolm Webster: Enjoyed the recent ITV drama based on the Scottish murderer’s life.
Mickey Rooney: Writing after the former Hollywood star died, Di Stefano told how he met him in 1989.
Robert Mugabe: Said he helped the Zimbabwean leader get money from the UK Government in the early ’80s.
David Moyes: Claimed to have predicted the Manchester United boss would be sacked and blamed the players for getting him the chop.
Ian Brady: Spoke of how he acted for the Moors murderer but only defended him because he wants to kill himself and it costs the state too much otherwise.
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