Luca Alessandro Longobardi

A native of Naples, Longobardi left home for New York City with $500 at the age of 21 to begin his career.[2][6] He sold shirts in the streets and even spent nights sleeping in Grand Central Station before taking up a job at VTR Capital, a satellite operation of the notorious, now-defunct investment bank Stratton Oakmont, founded by Jordan Belfort. He then worked at Ladenburg Thalmann, another investment bank,[7] before founding his own investment banking group State Capital in 1999, opening offices in Italy, Miami, New York and Brazil.[8]

In August 2010 Longobardi went to the United States consulate in São Paulo to renew his American visa. After the consulate's computer system identified him as a fugitive issued with a Red Notice from Interpol,[9] he was arrested by an FBI agent and a Brazilian policeman, who accused him of laundering money for the Italian mafia;[7][10] he later became known in the press as "the mafia's banker".[11][2][12] While awaiting extradition to Italy, he was placed in a maximum security prison along with notorious criminals such as Colombian drug lord Pablo Rayo Montaño and Italian terrorist Pierluigi Bragaglia. He was cleared of all charges and released in September 2010 after it emerged that there was no reference to the Camorra in any of Longobardi's case files.[8]

Longobardi was an early adopter of cryptocurrency and used Bitcoin as a means to pay the lawyer who secured his release. He realised its value and the potential of the supporting technology, blockchain, almost from inception.

In 2015, Longobardi published a book entitled Branded "The Mafia's Banker" (Italian: Per tutti ero il banchiere dei clan) documenting his experience during his arrest and time in prison.[2] A video promoting the book was released on YouTube on 22 October 2015, reaching over 1 million views and winning the Best Trailer/Promos award for May 2016 at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival.[13][14] In December 2016, Longobardi's film An Italian Food Story won the Best Inspirational Film award at the Los Angeles Film Awards.[15]

On 17 January 2017 it was announced that Longobardi and chef Chris Denney opened their restaurant, 108 Garage, in Notting Hill, West London.[6][3] It has received generally positive reviews from food critics.[16][17][18][19]

Longobardi's next venture, Home Noir, will combine his experience in finance, blockchain and hospitality. Recently featured in Forbes magazine, Longobardi described Home Noir as a members’ club existing physically and digitally with its own currency. Home Noir intends to unleash the power of the collaborative community, empowering progressive minds through blockchain. In early 2019 Home Noir will fundraise with the launch of an ICO (Initial Coin Offering). Participants can purchase Noir tokens in exchange for Bitcoin or Ethereum.[20]

Longobardi was married to Maria Joana Parizotto, who was voted Miss Brazil in 1996 and Miss Nuestra Beleza International in 1997.[8] They have 2 daughters: Julia and Raffaella.[11]