From prison to jail: The pact between Lavitola and Tavares over the Ranucci attack

Rome – The "best of 2022" has turned into the "worst" of 2026. A selfie with Valter Lavitola, Sigfrido Ranucci, and Cameroonian handyman Gomes Clesio Tavares, taken four years ago, when nothing yet foreshadowed what would happen, is part of the investigation into the attack on the Report host. Lavitola and Tavares: a damaging combination for Ranucci. According to the Prosecutor's Office, the two had a close and operational relationship of trust, aimed at commissioning criminal acts.

The selfie was sent to Lavitola by Tavares in January 2026, after the attack had already been carried out. The investigating judge believes it proves Ranucci's knowledge and connection with the two men who orchestrated the raid against him.

Such a deep-rooted acquaintance that in some conversations between the fixer and the journalist, the latter, especially in moments of difficulty, jokingly says 'you should lend me some Gomes'.

The documents from the Rome Prosecutor's Office investigation into the bombing of journalist Sigfrido Ranucci, however, highlight the key role of the duo composed of former fixer Valter Lavitola and his Cameroonian partner-in-crime, Gomes Clesio Tavares, who is currently wanted.

While Preliminary Investigations Judge Iole Moricca identified Lavitola as the leader and instigator of the planning, Tavares represented the essential "bridge" that transformed the intentions into explosives and rubble in front of the Torvaianica home.

Theirs is a strange fate. They met in Secondigliano prison in 2015, when both were inmates in the Adriatic wing. Although they've never shared a cell, their bond has remained strong to this day.

Their fate is strange, as once again they share a prison sentence. Both were issued a precautionary warrant for the "good intentions" attack on journalist Ranucci. Gomes, however, is still free and has no intention of ending up behind bars, so much so that he has made it known that he cannot return to Italy for health reasons.

The mandate and the inspection together

According to the Prosecutor's Office's reconstruction, Valter Lavitola directly instructed Tavares to identify individuals on the criminal market capable of procuring explosives and using them against the Report host . Tavares carried out the order by contacting the Campanian workforce based in the Nola area, making deals with Pellegrino D'Avino, a close friend—so much so that the latter keeps him registered as "fratmo" on his phone—and through them with Antonio Passariello, Saverio Mutone, and Marika De Filippis (already placed under precautionary measures last June).

The relationship and shared purpose between the former fixer and the Cameroonian citizen are confirmed by a key episode in the investigation: on September 15, 2025, a month before the explosion, Lavitola and Tavares jointly carried out a site inspection near Ranucci's villa, studying the target on the spot.

Cars and logistics provided by Tavares

While Lavitola pulled the political and strategic strings of the paradoxical motive (to increase the journalist's popularity without his knowledge), Tavares managed the logistics. It was the Cameroonian who provided the criminal group with the car, a Renault Megane registered to the partner's father, used for the subsequent tailings and for the crucial inspection on October 10, 2025.

Two divided destinies: prison and being a fugitive

The Rome Court's order signals the end of the road for both men, albeit with different outcomes. Valter Lavitola was arrested and transferred to prison on charges of mafia involvement and repeated recidivism. Gomes Clesio Tavares, on the other hand, is currently a fugitive: he is actively sought by authorities, and the latest traces place him in his home country, Cameroon, leaving behind a dense network of wiretaps and chats that confirm his role as the former fixer's irreplaceable right-hand man.

The telephone records and wiretapping activities of the Rome Prosecutor's Office contain crucial evidence that disproves the suspects' initial, convenient version and frames the gang that struck Sigfrido Ranucci's home.

The tactical “communicative silence”

Investigators have identified a specific pattern in the suspects' SIM cards, consisting in particular of silences during key moments of the inspections and on the evening of the attack.

The phones of the two perpetrators, Antonio Passariello and Saverio Mutone, entered a complete "communication silence" with the other members of the group. No text messages, no calls, no data connection.

Before turning off or isolating the device, Passariello's user hooked up to a single cell on Via Appia Nuova (Rome) at 21:40:42 PM on October 16, demonstrating its presence along the highway route to Torvaianica, the town where the attack would be carried out.

D'Avino was always in charge of maintaining relations between the perpetrators and Gomes, and on the evening of October 16th he sent a WhatsApp message to 'fratmo', which was more than clear: 'Everything's OK'

To reach the crime scene, the group used a black Fiat 500X registered to the Baiano-based company "Manda Rent." When the Carabinieri conducted an administrative check at the company's headquarters on February 13, 2026, panic broke out among those responsible.

A Trojan horse (computer eavesdropping device) installed on the dealership owner's phone, Carmine Colucci, recorded a frantic phone call with customer Tommaso D'Avanzo at 19:24 PM:

“Guy, they've pulled another one with that car, buddy… I've been at the barracks since this morning, now I'm out… now they're after me like the DDA… they came in suits and ties… they took all the contracts… they said to me: 'Tell us today who had this car.' I said: 'The contract is here, here's who had the car… you and he can cry for it.'”

In a subsequent conversation on February 16, 2026, Colucci admits to his interlocutor that he was aware of the group's illicit activities, although he had not imagined the bombing:

“Those idiots, they went and caused some trouble with the car in October… That idiot father of Pellegrino [Passariello]… I knew they sold some drugs, but could I imagine what they were up to?”

The involuntary confession in the car about the "stoker"

On February 25, 2026, a bug placed aboard Pellegrino D'Avino's Alfa Romeo Mito intercepted a WhatsApp audio message just received from a contact registered as "Massimo." The message explicitly referred to the procurement of the material through an explosives expert: "If you wait for the stoker at the end of the month where I'm working, will that be okay?"

Moments later, D'Avino sent a voicemail back, confirming the bomb order with unequivocal words: "Willing to wait until the end of the month for just one red one, really fine, you can make two... you see... Amma ottà i palaz n'terra! [We have to knock the buildings down!]"

Immediately after sending the bomb, D'Avino turns to the passenger (Piero De Filippis) proudly commenting on the destructive power of the bomb previously used in Pomezia: “This one was really powerful with the boom button, oh my goodness, what a mess we made!”

The granting of the explosive mandate

Conversations traced by investigators demonstrate that Lavitola gave an explicit and direct order to Tavares. The order involved two phases: identifying individuals in the Campania hinterland capable of procuring quarry gelatin (a powerful industrial explosive) and coordinating these individuals to assemble the device and detonate it beneath Sigfrido Ranucci's home.

Details emerged from the joint inspection

Phones and trackers documented that Lavitola and Tavares physically traveled to Torvaianica together on September 15, 2025. During this joint visit, their conversations and movements focused on studying the external perimeter of Ranucci's home, determining the exact spot to plant the bomb (near the journalist's Opel Adam) to maximize media impact without killing the target.

Messages on the management of the Renault Megane

The chats examined by investigators revealed details of the logistical cover-up orchestrated by Tavares. To avoid using vehicles directly linked to him or Lavitola, Tavares informed the group that he had found a "clean" car: a Renault Megane registered to his partner's father. This vehicle, as confirmed by the instructions exchanged between the two, was used to conduct the second, crucial inspection on October 10, 2025, just six days before the attack.

Triangulation with Ranucci's escort and monitoring

A disturbing aspect of the contacts between Lavitola and Tavares concerns their expert knowledge of the journalist's schedule. Through the exchange of information between the two, the gang knew that Ranucci's escort would carry out the usual sweep of the area before leaving. The two planned their action based on this time window: the explosion was scheduled for 22:17 PM, just 37 minutes after the escort dropped the journalist off at home (at 21:40 PM), ensuring that the car was parked and the street was deserted.

Because, as the investigating judge emphasizes in the order, the attack was not intended to harm Lavitola's close friend, but only to increase his popularity in view of a candidacy for the general election.

The plan orchestrated by the fixer, however, failed miserably when the Rome Prosecutor's Office discovered the shady plot and the perpetrators of the attack.