Frederick Keinszig is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
appearing in
The Godfather Part IIIThe Godfather Part III is a 1990 American thriller film written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, and directed by Coppola. It completes the story of Michael Corleone, a Mafia kingpin who tries to legitimize his criminal empire...
. He was portrayed by
AustrianAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
actor
Helmut BergerHelmut Berger is an Austrian actor.-Early life:Berger was born in Bad Ischl, Austria, into a family of hoteliers. He initially trained and worked in this field, even though he had no interest in gastronomy or the hospitality industry...
.
In the film
Nicknamed "God's Banker," Keinszig is the Swiss chief accountant of the
Vatican BankThe Institute for Works of Religion commonly known as Vatican Bank is located inside the Vatican City. It is run by a professional bank CEO who reports directly to a committee of cardinals, and ultimately to the Pope...
. As such, he represents the Vatican on the board of International Immobiliare, a European real estate company in which the Church has a quarter interest and is transferred to the control of
Michael CorleoneDon Michael Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novels, The Godfather and The Sicilian. He is also the main character of the film trilogy that was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, in which he was portrayed by Al Pacino...
. However, he is also part of a large
conspiracyA cabal is a number of people united in some close design, usually to promote their private views and interests in a church, state, or other community, often by intrigue...
with Don
Licio LucchesiLicio Lucchesi, often referred to simply as Don Lucchesi, is a fictional character in The Godfather Part III, in which he is, along with Don Altobello, one of the two chief antagonists...
and
Archbishop GildayArchbishop Gilday is a fictional character in The Godfather Part III. He is portrayed by Donal Donnelly. His character is based on Paul Marcinkus....
to scam Michael out of hundreds of millions of dollars and give it to persons holding positions of political power. The three accomplished this by constantly stalling the conclusion of the Immobiliare deal and harping on the ill health of
Pope Paul VIPope Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 1963 to 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
, as the Pontiff's personal approval is necessary to finalize the transfer of the company to Corleone control.
After the Pope's death,
Cardinal LambertoCardinal Lamberto is a fictional character appearing in The Godfather Part III. He is portrayed by Raf Vallone.Lamberto was a cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church, and the man favoured to succeed the terminally ill Pope Paul VI as head of the Church...
is elected the new Pontiff (he takes the name John Paul I) and promptly requests a meeting with Keinszig to discuss reform of the Vatican Bank. However, Keinszig mysteriously departs
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
, along with a large amount of money and several important documents. After Michael's nephew
Vincent Mancini-CorleoneVincent Santino Corleone is a fictional character in the 1990 feature film The Godfather Part III, in which he is portrayed by Andy García, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance...
becomes the new Godfather, he orders the deaths of Keinszig, Lucchesi, and the Archbishop in revenge for swindling his uncle. Accordingly, Vincent's dispatched assassin penetrates Keinszig's house and smothers him with a pillow. His corpse is subsequently hung from a bridge, in full view of the public.
Inspirations
The character of Frederick Keinszig is loosely based on
Roberto CalviRoberto Calvi was an Italian banker dubbed "God's Banker" by the press due to his close association with the Vatican. A native of Milan, Calvi was the chairman of Banco Ambrosiano which collapsed in one of modern Italy's biggest political scandals, and his death in London in June 1982 has been the...
, the head of the Vatican-controlled
Banco AmbrosianoBanco Ambrosiano was an Italian bank which collapsed in 1982. At the centre of the bank's failure was its chairman, Roberto Calvi and his membership in the illegal masonic lodge Propaganda Due...
, which spectacularly collapsed in 1982, causing a large scandal in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
.