The governor of Sicily has suspended himself from public office after claims that he failed to counter a friend’s suggestion that the daughter of one of Italy’s most celebrated anti-mafia heroes – a judge who was killed in 1992 – be “done away with just like her father” in a wiretapped telephone conversation two years ago.
The governor, Rosario Crocetta, kept silent after the comment by his friend Matteo Tutino, according to a report in L’Espresso magazine.
Tales of corrupt politicians and mafia infiltration are commonplace in Italy. But the latest report has sent shockwaves across the country because of the involvement of both Crocetta, who has a reputation for being anti-mafia, and the woman being discussed, Lucia Borsellino, who served as health minister in his regional government.
L’Espresso alleged that in the taped conversation, Tutino – who has since been arrested on unrelated corruption charges – can be heard saying that Borsellino should be “stopped and done away with, just like her father” and that Crocetta did not challenge the statement.
Crocetta, a member of prime minister Matteo Renzi’s centre-left Democratic party and the first gay governor of Sicily, has not directly disputed the report, but said he could not recall the conversation. “I didn’t hear the phrase on Lucia, perhaps there was poor reception, I can’t explain it; in fact on the phone I make no reply. Now I feel awful,” he told Ansa news agency.
Borsellino has resigned from the regional council on which she served, saying she was deeply offended by the alleged remark.
The report sparked outrage and statements of solidarity with Borsellino, who received calls of support from both Renzi and Sergio Mattarella, Italy’s president. Mattarella is the first Sicilian to hold the head of state post. His own brother was also killed by the mafia.
Paolo Borsellino was killed by the Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian mafia, in a car bomb in 1992. The murder occurred about 60 days after his friend and a fellow judge, Giovanni Falcone, was killed. The murdered judges are emotional symbols in Italy of the bloody price many have paid in the struggles against organised crime.
The Espresso story has been denied by Sicilian prosecutors and police, who say they are not in possession of any wiretapped conversations that resemble the dialogue that was reported. The magazine has insisted that its reporting is accurate and Sicily’s chief prosecutor, Francesco Lo Voi, has said he is considering opening an investigation into the matter.
