Ex-neofascist extradited to Italy to serve life for deadly 1974 bombing

ROME, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- A former member of an extreme-right organization who was sentenced to life in prison for a deadly 1974 bombing has been extradited to Italy from Portugal, local media reported Tuesday.

Maurizio Tramonte, now in his mid-60s, is a former member of the neo-fascist group Ordine Nuovo (New Order) and a former secret service informant.

He has been found guilty of the May 28, 1974, bombing at a peaceful demonstration in nothern town of Brescia by teachers and labor unions that killed eight people and wounded 102 more. "I thank the Portuguese authorities for their collaboration," Italian Justice Minister Andrea Orlando tweeted Tuesday.

Tramonte's extradition "is an act of justice which we had promised to the families of the victims."

The anti-terrorism unit of Italy's Carabinieri police tracked Tramonte down earlier this year in Portugal, where he was arrested. He was escorted to Rome's Fiumicino Airport, where he landed in the early afternoon, according to ANSA news agency.

In June this year, a court found Tramonte and another former neo-fascist, Carlo Maria Maggi, guilty of planning and executing the bloody attack. Maggi, who is in his 80s and too sick to be jailed, was granted house arrest in his native Venice. Tramonte will likely serve out his term behind bars.

The Brescia bombing was one of several attacks, kidnappings and assassinations carried out by both right-wing and left-wing groups in Italy from the late 1960s to the late 1970s, a period of turmoil which Italians have dubbed the "years of lead". Enditem