Credits
Author:
Original: Dossier Italo Mondelli
Translator:
Italo Mondelli
Eleventh Superintendent, Intelligence and Research Section director and espionage coordinator
Name: Italo Mondelli
Birth Date: 13/07/1969
Birth Place: Bozen, Trentino-Südtirol
Clearance Level: 5-IT
Physical Description: Caucasian male; 1.82 m tall; short, grey hair; grey-green eyes. Has a small scar on one side of his mouth.1 Has a prosthetic right arm.
Language Certificates: [CLASSIFIED]
Research/Combat Focus: Espionage
Career:
- 1991 - Commits to bringing down the pro-fascist organization "Last Revolutionary Front", but gets expelled from SISDe2 after they allied with CFO.
- 1992 - Performs counter-espionage operations, helping identify ██ agents affiliated with several nations of the Soviet block, including █ [DATA EXPUNGED] agents.
- 1993 - Gets recruited by SISMA as a special operative, after learning about the anomalous; he works in the field for two years, sometimes as a team leader, in a few military interventions.
- 1996 - Gets recruited by the Foundation and joins SIR-II as an undercover agent embedded with CFO.
- 2000 - Ends his service in SIR-II and takes care of training SIR recruits.
- 2007 - Becomes the Eleventh Superintendent.
Biography: Italo Mondelli was born in Bozen, Südtirol, in 1969. He spent his whole life between two worlds and cultures, the German one and the Italian one, with his parents being particularly hostile towards the former. This world of conflict between the two cultures marked Mondelli deeply and made him decide to completely change his life.
He was recruited by the Italian secret service as an agent, after he ended his conscription in the army; what made him stand out among his colleagues - and was always a feature of his - was his extreme self-control, especially in his expressions and body language, which often made him inscrutable even to the experts' eyes. He spent a few years in SISDe, operating against one of the last political terrorist organizations in Italy, called "Last Revolutionary Front", but was retired hastily after the leaders of the organization announced their alliance with CFO.3 After the end of his first assignment, he worked for a year in the counter-espionage department of SISDe, helping locate multiple agents of the eastern block present in Italy. He was stopped after his investigation led to the discovery of the anomalous organizations, so he was transferred to SISMA.
He worked as a SISMA special operative for a few months at his own request,4 but despite his composure allowing him to lead some squads in a few field operations, he was not physically suitable for such tasks, which often endangered him when confronting sentient, hostile anomalies.
After the crisis and downsizing of SISMA in 1996, he was recruited by the Foundation, alongside other former agents. From 1997 and 2000, he worked undercover in CFO as a SIR-II agent; during that time, he provided the Foundation with a great deal of information on the anomalies and projects of CFO, including the A-50 chimeras, which were still at the design stage back then. Although his cover was never blown, his comrades were ordered to capture him in spring 2000. It all happened in a small, temporary CFO base where the group had just been moved. He was tortured for two days, during which he was forced to reveal some sensitive information on the Foundation and its anomalies. By sheer luck, a whistleblower was able to find his location and a SSM team arrived, successfully extracting him and eliminating the documents found there.
After that accident, Mondelli became deeply depressed due to losing his right arm - amputated because of an advanced-stage gangrene - and part of his leg mobility, which is why he still has to walk around with a cane. Because of his depression, he was put under careful psychiatric observation for months.
He recovered 6 months later and was assigned to train newcomers in SIR-II, including the new SPeV-II agent, Mauro Venelli. The two of them never got along because of their different views on the personnel and their job. Mondelli treated the men and women of SIR-II with great respect, whereas Venelli went for a much harsher, sterner approach.
When the former S5-11 retired in 2007, Mondelli replaced him. One of the first reforms he put forward was giving the leader of SIR-II some control over SPeV-II as well, so as to keep an eye on Venelli. That led to several arguments between the two of them, causing their mutual hostility to grow even fiercer. His decision lifted the spirits of SPeV-II and led to less transfer requests, thus creating a calmer environment. It was all done without undermining their harsh training handled by Venelli, which bore fruit.
Mondelli always proved a good strategist, improving the intelligence service of the Italian Branch, but was often criticized for his tendency to feel the weight of his responsibilities too much. His behavior during the ██/██/2014 meeting became famous: after hearing how many establishments had been lost following the 2014 incident, caused by an operation he strongly opposed because "it was pointlessly dangerous for the intelligence personnel present in the CFO base", he grabbed his cane and broke it in two by smashing it on the table, before resuming reading the documents.
Personality: Mondelli is particularly empathetic towards Foundation operatives. Since he used to be a SISMA special operative and infiltrate many dangerous organizations, he understands the dangers his subordinates face every day and what they stake, leaving their families for years and risking capture. Thanks to this quality of his, he can get along with most personnel, especially admiring the First Superintendent — one of the few people who can actually see right through him.
S5-11 is very calm and serious at work. The cases where he actually loses control of himself are very rare. His great patience and rationality often make him a peacemaker during arguments between Superintendents and among the intelligence operatives. The only person he somewhat struggles to connect with is director Venelli. The never-ending rivalry between them is further fueled by their pasts.5
His physical disability, which forces him to walk with a cane, makes him envy people with no motor problems to some extent. S5-11 does not make this feeling transparent so easily, simply poking fun at his condition.
Characteristics and Special Features:
- Having worked for state-owned intelligence organizations for years, Mondelli is particularly patriotic and one of the few people hoping for the Foundation to be nationalized to the disadvantage of the O5 Command, but that never made him question his loyalty to the organization.
- He tends to act open-minded, avoiding any kind of prejudice and often mentioning his past in an intolerant family.
- He often plays solo with his deck of cards during the Superintendents' meetings. According to him, that helps him concentrate, which is why he often has a deck at hand. Other than that, he loves playing Briscola, Black Jack, poker - which he uses to teach recruits how to control their body language and to make a few wagers after work at night - Scala 40 and his favorite card game: Buraco.
- Although he lost his right arm during the interrogation in 2000, he now has a mechanical prosthesis which he tends to hide with long-sleeved suits and gloves. That did not stop him from taking up weapons again; indeed, he regained his excellent aim by learning to shoot with his left arm. He calls his peculiar shooting technique "Karoly-style", referencing Olympic athlete Károly Takács, his source of inspiration.
- When Venelli and he argue, they often do it in German - a language they are both fluent in - often worrying oblivious people passing by his office at that moment.
- He usually wears an old, long, faded green Trench suit, a gift he got from his former SISMA teammates in 1994. A turtle had been sewn into it, quipping on his slowness and agility. Since most of them died over the following years, he sewed a poppy in their honor under the turtle and often has fun talking about their adventures, though with a little melancholy.
- It is still unclear how and why a CFO Triumvir found out he was an undercover agent. Mondelli believes the Dictator himself discovered it, often mentioning an encounter his team had with him after one of their missions. To this date, no proof of the Dictator's direct involvement has been found.
- He usually says "per aspera ad veritatem" (to the truth through roughness) as a slogan. He took it from the now decommissioned SISDe, for which he worked from 1991 to 1992.
Quotes:
- «Come on, use your legs! Don't tell me you want to lose a marathon against pissed off CFO agents!»6
- «It's easy to talk, when you're sitting on the silk armchair»7
- «I'm the one who loses out the most when I play: if I win, I have to give the money back because I'm the Eleventh Superintendent, while the others keep the money the few times I lose»8
Documents:
- SCP-102-IT — Literally Mona Lisa
- SCP-098-IT — Ghost Pack
- SCP-408-FR — Singing Stag