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Filippo Bernardini pretended to work for publishing houses so he could get his hands on authors’ rough drafts and manuscripts. He claims he did it for the love of books, literature and reading. (PHOTOS: Gallo Images/Alamy; Facebook)
Filippo Bernardini pretended to work for publishing houses so he could get his hands on authors’ rough drafts and manuscripts. He claims he did it for the love of books, literature and reading. (PHOTOS: Gallo Images/Alamy; Facebook)

The Spine Collector, authorities called him. For years he successfully racked up one crime after the other, taunting some of his victims along the way. 

This chilling description may conjure up images of a hardened criminal leaving a trail of human bodies in his wake. But the truth is very much stranger than fiction in this case. 

The man in question is actually a bespectacled nerdish type – and the spines he collected belong to books. 

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