politics
Italy police say businessman with ties to Berlusconi is mastermind behind journalist bomb attack
August 10, 2026 / 1:24 PM EDT / CBS/AFP
TL;DR
- Valter Lavitola, a businessman with ties to former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi, is accused of masterminding a bomb attack on journalist Sigfrido Ranucci.
- The attack, which occurred in October, destroyed two cars at Ranucci's home in Pomezia.
- Police arrested Lavitola, who allegedly believed the bombing would enhance Ranucci's public profile for a political career.
- Ranucci, known for investigations into corruption and the mafia, has been under police protection since 2021.
- Lavitola is accused of instructing Tavares Gomes Clesio to recruit four men to plant the bomb; the four men were arrested in June.
- Lavitola and Gomes Clesio allegedly conducted an initial inspection of Ranucci's home in September.
- Lavitola and Silvio Berlusconi each received a three-year sentence in 2015 for bribing a senator.
- The attack occurred on the eighth anniversary of the car bomb slaying of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.