Book excerpt: Five years of investigation by various Italian police forces have thrown light on a mysterious sect present throughout the country and abroad. Known to many as Un Punto Macrobiotico, it is an association recognised by the Italian Ministry of Solidarity for its benevolent social activity. But it was later accused of criminal conspiracy resulting in modern-day slavery and the hidden recycling of enormous amounts of money. But who is Mario Pianesi, guru and absolute boss of that psycho-sect? How did he create his own personality cult and an impressive personal fortune? How does the psycho-sect work? How was it born? How has it evolved? The author, who lived within this group for 25 years, gives a complete picture of the phenomenon. When the authorities began to investigate Pianesi, more than 40 ex-members of the cult came forward to denounce him. They spoke of sexual abuse, techniques designed to destroy the personality of the members, and mysterious deaths among those who followed the guru’s ‘medical’ advice – and this was the man who claimed to be able to cure any type of illness with his Mapi diet. How did a diet turn into a mind-control cult? This is an important book because it explains the manipulatory mechanisms that were capable of entrapping the minds of hundreds of thousands of people. An awareness of such systems can help us to avoid the traps set by the thousands of destructive cults all over the world, and it can allow people to cast off the invisible chains which bind the victims of sects.