Italy arrests former Berlusconi associate over journalist bomb attack

Valter Lavitola thought the bombing would raise the journalist's profile ahead of a possible career in politics, authorities wrote in the arrest warrant.(AFP) — Italian police said Monday they had arrested a businessman who had ties to former Premier Silvio Berlusconi for allegedly ordering a bomb attack targeting prominent television journalist Sigfrido Ranucci last year.Rome’s Carabinieri police said Valter Lavitola, a friend of Ranucci, was the “alleged mastermind” behind the Oct. 16 attack outside the journalist’s home.Lavitola is accused of instructing a second man, Tavares Gomes Clesio, to recruit four men arrested in June who are accused of placing the bomb, police said.“Lavitola is suspected of having conceived the criminal plan, instructing Gomes to identify individuals capable of procuring the explosives and carrying out a demonstrative attack in front of the journalist’s villa,” they said.Both men took part in an “initial exploratory inspection” outside Ranucci’s home in September, police said, adding that they were still looking for Gomes.Lavitola thought the bombing would raise Ranucci’s profile ahead of a possible career in politics, authorities wrote in the arrest warrant, according to local media.Ranucci, the popular star of the weekly investigative show “Report” on state broadcaster Rai, is not accused of any wrongdoing, and detectives believe he was unaware of Lavitola’s plans.Ranucci has taken on sensitive topics such as Italy’s Mafia and political corruption in past investigations and has lived under police protection for years.The journalist, who once described Lavitola as a “true friend,” was not injured in the attack, which damaged two cars and part of his gate outside his home in Pomezia, south of Rome.Lavitola, a former journalist and import-export businessman who owns a restaurant in Rome, is well-known in Italy, having been close to Berlusconi, who died in 2023.In 2015, a lower court convicted the former prime minister of bribing a senator and sentenced him to three years in prison. The same sentence was given to Lavitola, whom prosecutors accused of having handed the cash to the lawmaker.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads