Elm Grove Publishing

Vito Cellini was born in America and raised in Italy. Drafted into the fascist Italian army in World War Two, he was court martialled for desertion and sent to fight at the front lines where he deserted again to join Tito’s Partisans in Yugoslavia, fighting elite German units. Rejoining the Allies he volunteered as an agent with the OSS and SOE in southern Italy, eliminating criminals and undesirables. After the war he found his skills in demand in the private sector, even posing as a Mafia crime boss to take on Italian gangsters. Now in his 90s, Cellini looks back on his life as a soldier, resistance fighter, agent, inventor, advisor to world leaders in the art of guerrilla warfare – and thorn in the side of the US intelligence establishment. He is the holder of 19 patents for his remarkable inventions which include the Cellini muzzle brake used by US Special Forces and Law Enforcement.  

Author Mick J. Prodger spent more than two years interviewing Cellini, travelling in the US and Europe with him, talking to those who know him and visiting the sites of his adventures, as well as researching the historical background for this book.