‘Today is a good day to die’ tattoo links severed leg to football hooligan

A severed leg found in a river in Rome is believed to belong to a violent gangster linked to a group of hardline football supporters. Gabriele di Ponto’s left leg, cut off below the knee with the words “Today is a good day to die” tattooed on it, was discovered by a fisherman at the point where the River Aniene meets the Tiber. The phrase is a motto of an ultra right-wing group of Lazio fans called the Mister Enrich legion, named after a 1970s British cartoon character which is used as their logo. As well as a Mr Enrich cartoon, the limb was also engraved with the words Curva Nord - a stand in the stadium of the Roman club.

I have never come across anyone as nasty as him

Gabriele di Ponto’s former father-in-law

Police said the leg had been there for 48 hours before it was discovered and has been identified as belongng to di Ponto, a 36-year-old from Rome. Early findings of a post mortem examination are that an electric saw was used to remove the limb. Police believe he was murdered and probably dismembered. Di Ponto, who has a string of previous convictions for drug dealing and robbery, was last heard from on 24 July when he posted to Facebook. He had a limp after surviving being once sprayed with bullets and this allowed the police to identify him when he carried out robberies of pharmacies armed with a hatchet. His relatives were said to have gone to the morgue and identified his leg from five tattoos.

Hello to all prisoners. Better to be in a cell, silent, than to be without honour

Gabriele di Ponto on Facebook

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