''It's a bombshell, we're getting to Renzi'': Modena prosecutor claims to have received pressure from Noe

Rome. "Scafarto and Ultimo were particularly unscrupulous, as if gripped by a delusion of omnipotence": these are the words of Modena Prosecutor Lucia Musti, which are included in the CSM records as part of the proceedings opened against the Neapolitan prosecutors in the Consip case. Excerpts from the magistrate's hearing on July 17 were published this morning by Repubblica, Corriere della Sera, and Messaggero, sparking yet another uproar engulfing the Naples Prosecutor's Office and the Carabinieri of the NOE (National Emergency Operations Agency), who have been following the investigation, starting with that of CPL Concordia, the giant cooperative operating in alternative energy, Consip's 'parent' investigation into the multi-million-dollar contract awarded to entrepreneur Alfredo Romeo.

The words of Modena Prosecutor Musti sound like a powerful indictment of the two military officers assigned to the investigation, who, through the inquiry, attempted to implicate Matteo Renzi, then Prime Minister, in the mega-investigation that ultimately resulted in an acquittal of the Concordia Cpl leaders during the preliminary investigation.

"If you want, you have a bomb in your hand. You can detonate it. There will be chaos. We'll get to Renzi." These are the words that, in more than one meeting between Modena and Rome, NOE captain Gianpaolo Scafarto, under investigation for forgery as part of the investigation into the Consip case, and Colonel Ultimo Sergio De Caprio, allegedly addressed to Modena prosecutor Lucia Musti. These are the words the magistrate reported during the hearing held on July 17th before the CSM. The conversations, Repubblica reports, date back to the spring of 2015: in April of that year, the Modena prosecutor's office had just received the documents from the investigation into the affairs of the CPL Concordia cooperative, opened by the Naples prosecutor's office and then transferred to the Emilian city for territorial jurisdiction. The prosecutor herself reconstructed the background during the over two-and-a-half-hour session before the first commission of the CSM. During the hearing, the newspaper reports, "she said she saw Scafarto and Ultimo as particularly 'unscrupulous' and as if 'seized by a delusion of omnipotence.'" This was a preview of the developments of an investigative effort that Musti reportedly disliked, and would later discuss it with his colleagues on the CSM's First Committee. Furthermore, after Naples prosecutors Henry John Woodcock, Celeste Carrano, and Giuseppina Loreto had broadcast to Modena an excerpt from the CPL-Concordia investigation, including a report containing wiretaps between Guardia di Finanza General Michele Adinolfi and then-Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, De Caprio allegedly told her: "You have a bomb in your hand; if you want, you can detonate it." According to Repubblica, the magistrate reportedly felt almost pressured, as if her freedom and prerogatives as head of a prosecutor's office could be somehow restricted. Musti's statement to the CSM, which is part of an investigation launched to shed light on the July 2015 leak regarding the phone calls between Renzi and Adinolfi, has been sent to the Rome prosecutors for further investigation.

Prosecutor Lucia Musti was heard in the proceedings for incompatibility against prosecutor Henry John Woodcock, for which the judges Luca Palamara and Aldo Morgigni are rapporteurs.

Modena Prosecutor Musti has not commented since the reports were published this morning, but the magistrate's remarks have prompted angry reactions from numerous members of the Democratic Party, who have called them a "conspiracy" and a "coup d'état." Democratic Party MP Michele Anzaldi, announcing the submission of a question to Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti, said: "The words of Modena prosecutor Lucia Musti on the Consip case, spoken during an official hearing before the self-governing body of the judiciary, the CSM, reveal a decidedly disturbing and alarming scenario, bordering on a coup d'état: has the Ministry of Defense, which oversees the Carabinieri officers accused by Magistrate Musti, requested the acquisition of the documents to assess possible measures to be taken? Has it launched an internal investigation? Has it assessed whether, and if so, what measures should be taken to protect the honor and good name of the Carabinieri?"

According to Magistrate Musti's report, Anzaldi continues, former NOE deputy commander Sergio de Caprio and NOE captain Gianpaolo Scafarto, both serving in the Carabinieri, allegedly attempted on several occasions to direct her toward alleged investigations aimed at implicating then-Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, through 'sloppy' judicial police reports, as the prosecutor stated. This is a further, extremely serious element that adds to what has already emerged in an investigation where Carabinieri officers are accused of tampering with warrants, fabricating wiretaps, and falsifying statements and investigative evidence. In short, this is a context in which law enforcement officials are implicated in alleged misdirection, leaks, and disclosure of investigative secrecy, so much so that the Rome Prosecutor's Office had to exclude NOE from the investigation into the Consip case following repeated suspicious behavior, which is now under investigation.

"Faced with such a scenario," Anzaldi continues, "which both the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office and the CSM are already investigating from a judicial perspective, now that the extremely serious nature of a judge's testimony before the highest judicial body, the CSM, has emerged, it is appropriate for the Ministry of Defense to evaluate whether and how it should intervene to determine whether certain Carabinieri have plotted against the democratic leaders of our country and to prevent this incident from seriously damaging the Carabinieri's image, including the relationship between citizens and the force."

Other Democratic Party members also spoke out on the matter: "Carabinieri trying to get to Renzi, fabricated investigations? We need the truth quickly." Democratic Party Senator Stefano Esposito tweeted, commenting on the news about the Concordia Police Station case. "A disturbing picture is emerging from the Consip investigation. It appears that the intention was to target Renzi through his father. Full light must be shed on this matter, quickly." Democratic Party MP Edoardo Patriarca stated: "The absolute gravity of an investigation that appears to have been rigged to target Matteo Renzi. We need to get to the truth." Democratic Party Senator Andrea Marcucci tweeted. Democratic Party MP Emanuele Fiano made the same comment.