Ledeen, Claire Sterling and Francesco Pazienza were deeply involved in putting together the fake Bulgarian connection in the Ali Agca assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II's life. The Mitrokhin commission tried to resell the story by alleging there was proof in the Stasi archives. Guzzanti and his cohorts accused the Stasi of holding back the documents. They produced a big PR storm which was amplified and broadcasted throughout the world through the good offices of the Corriere della Sera.

La Repubblica blew the scam apart. They got hold of the Stasi documents and began publishing them. The contents only proved that the Bulgarians were bewildered by the American- Italian attempt to frame them. The Repubblica then interviewed the head of Stasi, Misha Wolff, who brushed off the matter sardonically. At that point Repubblica turned over the entire cache of the Stasi-Bulgarian documents with a note saying that usually reporters are forced to turn over documents by warrant and that they find it very satisfying to donate the "missing" documents to the commission to further their search for truth.

There is a disquieting follow up to all this. The other day the actual head of the Bulgarian archives, Bozhidar Doychev, was found dead, shot through the mouth. Suicide or suicided. The Bulgarian archives may be opened by a parliamentary vote in the near future. Purportedly it would contain information from the infamous "Darzhavna sigurnost" on Ali Agca and the Markov murder, much to Guzzanti's joy. If only he could get his chums to forge some fake Bulgarian archives. With Igor Marini, Rocco Martino and Scaramella presently on the dole he shouldn't have problems finding helpers.

There has been a rash of "suicides" (three) in Bulgaria this autumn, all linked to the Minister of Interior or the Secret Services.