Classic Olympic Tourists?

Citizens of the United States, Italy, and Dominica:

The di Silvestris have taken a less direct path. Without giving a precise date, di Silvestri said that he and Angelica had first visited Dominica “years ago” and that they had financed developmental and humanitarian projects on the island. He did not provide specifics on the projects but said he and his wife had done philanthropic work internationally in education, health and athletics.

“It’s a beautiful country; we fell in love with it, and the people are great, and we wanted to help them in some way,” he said. “These countries, they need assistance, so we did. We acted the best we could at the time, made a financial contribution to the country that went to different projects, and in return they granted us citizenship.”

Di Silvestri said that he and Angelica also hold Italian citizenship and that he holds United States citizenship.

Bill Mallon, an Olympic historian from the United States, called the di Silvestris “classic Olympic tourists.”