One Foot In The Mafia
Douglas Wight, Lisanne Meadowcroft

Lisanne Meadowcroft was eighteen when in 1990 she left her Greater Manchester home seeking a new life abroad. Working for a British couple, selling art prints in southern Italy, Lisanne’s adventure looked to be short-lived when, after just two weeks with no sales, she faced being sent home. That’s when fate brought her to the attention of finance company boss Dario Moretti, who took an immediate shine to her, not only buying prints in exchange for dinner but also offering her a job with his firm and accommodation at his luxury villa.

A wide-eyed innocent – not suspecting Moretti, 20 years her senior, had an ulterior motive – Lisanne accepted and for two months worked as his PA, joining him as he collected cash payments from ‘clients’. Slowly, however, Lisanne discovered a darker side to Moretti – he had a dubious past, had a wife and children living elsewhere and he appeared to wield great power and influence over those who owned him money. Her worst fears were realised when she then found a cache of guns, banknotes and explosives in a secret safe.

Suddenly, Moretti’s mask of geniality slipped, and he ‘punished’ Lisanne by subjecting her at gunpoint to a brutal sexual assault, chillingly telling her she now had ‘one foot in the Mafia.’ So began months of physical and psychological torture, as Moretti routinely raped Lisanne, threatening to harm her and her family if she defied him.

Over the next four years, she: 

Fell pregnant and had to organise a termination to get rid of the monster’s baby 

Tried to kill herself as the misery of her life pushed her to breaking point 

Feared for her life after discovering people who crossed him had mysteriously died 

Realised the explosives she found were likely used in a Mafia bombing campaign

Initially living on her wits to survive, Lisanne eventually managed to break free of the stranglehold Moretti had on her life when he was put under house arrest following a bomb attack. Finally, after forging an unlikely bond with a British pop star, who was on tour at the time, she was able to flee Italy.

n the 30 years since, Lisanne became a mother and narrowly escaped another brush with a Mafia figure before settling down in her native north-west and becoming a dedicated healthcare worker. Remarkably, she has never told the story of her time in Italy – until now.