Ranucci & Lavitola, prosecutors investigate chats and Report investigations

Rome – Report's prepared but never aired reports, some of which were the subject of chat and in-person conversations between Sigfrido Ranucci and Valter Lavitola, are being examined by the Rome Prosecutor's Office and Deputy Prosecutor Edoardo De Sanctis.

Investigators are playing a game of cross-referencing to reconstruct the relationship between the fixer and the journalist, the former instigator of the attack on October 16th, the latter the victim.

In particular, what has aroused the interest of the Roman judiciary is a report from the Carabinieri of the investigative unit of Rome headed by Colonel Dario Ferrara and which refers to various chats and in-person meetings between Valter Lavitola and Sigfrido Ranucci in which the two friends talked about the episodes of Report and the political scenarios.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, verifying the correspondence between the intelligence services and what Lavitola and Ranucci said is crucial to understanding the type of interests and relationships between the two. Whether Ranucci used the fixer exclusively as a source or whether he somehow facilitated his own political or business interests.

Meanwhile, in light of these investigations and following Lavitola's spontaneous statements before the Court of Review, the journalist may be questioned again by investigators. According to Lavitola, Ranucci never suspected he was behind the attack.

The Court of Review, which is called to decide on the release of the former editor of 'L'Avanti!' or the possible granting of house arrest in the province of Potenza, is expected to deliver its decision by September 10th.

Meanwhile, Gomes Clesio Tavares' wife, Gelsomina Tuorto, said in an interview with Tg1: "I hope my husband returns and can defend himself. If he has to pay, he'll have to pay. He's far away and is taking all the blame. It's easier to shift the blame onto him, since he's not in detention." The man, Lavitola's handyman, is the subject of a pre-trial detention order for acting as an intermediary between the instigator and the perpetrators of the attack on Sigfrido Ranucci.

A cousin of Lavitola's from Basilicata also spoke on Tg1. "Let's just say we would have preferred it not to happen. It's certainly not a good thing to be in the news for this story," the man said when contacted by Tg1 by phone regarding the possibility of him being granted house arrest to serve in Noepoli, in the province of Potenza. "It's not that we're related to a Nobel Prize winner, we're related to someone who was arrested for that whole situation."