BBC NEWS- Mafioso 'claimed Berlusconi link'

[ComradeMan]

Mafioso 'claimed Berlusconi link'

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46856000/jpg/_46856473_008362320-1.jpg

A court in the Italian city of Turin has heard an allegation that a Sicilian Mafia boss convicted of 1990s bombings boasted of ties to Silvio Berlusconi. Mafia informant Gaspare Spatuzza was giving evidence at the appeals trial of Marcello Dell'Utri, a co-founder of the Italian prime minister's party.
He said the Mafia boss had claimed to have Mr Berlusconi's support.
A spokesman for Mr Berlusconi, who denies the allegations, suggested the Mafia was trying to discredit the PM.
Mr Spatuzza, a prosecution witness, gave evidence from behind a screen in the courtroom, surrounded by several bodyguards.
Ten people were killed and dozens were injured in the 1993 attacks.
'Revenge'
The informant recounted an alleged meeting in 1994 with the Mafia leader, Giuseppe Graviano, who was later convicted along with his brother for the bombings in Rome, Milan and Florence.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46856000/jpg/_46856728_008372752-1.jpg
He said that Graviano had boasted of his connections to media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, who was then on the cusp of his political career.
"Two names were mentioned, one of them was Berlusconi's," he told the court.
"I asked if he was the one from Channel Five and he told me 'yes'."
"Graviano told me that thanks to the seriousness of these people, we had the country in our hands," he added.
The spokesman for Mr Berlusconi, who is not formally linked to the case of his political associate, said the Mafia was attempting to get its revenge on Mr Berlusconi's administration for its fight against organised crime.
"It is completely logical that the Mafia would use its members to make statements against the prime minister of a government that has acted in a determined and concrete way against organised crime," Paolo Bonaiuti said, quoted by to Reuters news agency.
Marcello Dell'Utri is appealing against a conviction for Mafia association and a nine-year prison sentence.
Speaking to reporters at the Turin court, Mr Dell'Utri said the claims were nothing news and "all false". He said he was unworried by the evidence.
"And of course Berlusconi is completely calm about it too - he's more afraid of his wife than Spatuzza," he said, referring to the prime minister's ongoing divorce proceedings.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/europe/8395280.stm

[Stranger Than Paradise]

Yep...... Berlusconi is a mafia stooge, nothing new here.

[ComradeMan]

Ahimè mia bella Italia....! :(

Let's see what comes of it, this "pentito" could be lying, but whatever the outcome it is yet another condemnation of Italy that drags us through the mud...:(

[rebelmouse]

business is connected with criminals and Berluskoni is businessman. surely, when someone become businessman, he must corrupt many people, so he is alone braking the law, it means he is criminal. but surely, to be so rich and without connections with organized criminals (mafia), it is not possible. if Berluskoni didn't pay recket to mafia, then Berluskoni had someone's protection from criminals, maybe some criminal protected him if he washed money with help of Berluskoni.

[The Red Next Door]

Bringing the new meaning of a European Gangster state. Italia republica del gangstas

[ComradeMan]

Bringing the new meaning of a European Gangster state. Italia republica del gangstas

Che tristezza!!!! Che vergogna per il mio Bel Paese.

[Pogue]

Utterly shameful. I thought the Mafia was better than this.

[cyu]

Utterly shameful. I thought the Mafia was better than this.


LOL! :laugh:

[ComradeMan]

LOL! :laugh:

What's interesting now is that the rightwing Lega Nord have called for a review on the law's connected to the statement of pentiti. Now, the person who has pointed the finger at Berlusconi is not exactly San Francesco d'Assisi and the truth of these serious allegations remains to be seen, but what puzzles me is this sudden change of heart on the laws regarding pentiti. Previously in Italy the testimony of a pentito was not valid nor were there witness protection schemes and the like, the use of the pentiti and the witness protection schemes was a major weapon in the fight against the mafia- Now the Lega Nord, with their racist "nordista" stance that often subtley suggests that all of Italy's woe are down to the inherently corrupt and mafioso southern Italians, want to review the very laws that were implemented to combat those who they say are the ruin of Italy. Interesting....

[Raúl Duke]

Berlusconi always gets into a lot of shit and yet still keeps getting elected. I remember when I was in Florence (where the majority hated Berlusconi and it both the city and the province voted the left coalition parties at the elections. I was there at the time of the elections. I even saw a RCI rally/concert) there was some sort of scandal about him and some girl(s) he meet at Napoli or Sardegna.

It doesn't surprise me if he has connections of some sort...I heard (once, from a girl from Bari) that, at least in the south, it's common to hear of allegations or rumors that some politicians are connected to the mafia.

[cyu]

Berlusconi always gets into a lot of shit and yet still keeps getting elected.


From Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one (http://everything2.com/user/gate/writeups/Freedom+of+the+press+is+guaranteed+only+to+those+w ho+own+one)

A quote from A. J. Liebling, a writer for the The New Yorker.

Freedom of the press is considered to be one of the cornerstones of a functioning democracy. Without it, you wouldn't know what you were voting on, and the process of voting would be worthless.

Silvio Berlusconi is Italy's wealthiest person. He also controls more "freedom of the press" than any other person in Italy. Of course, he also happens to have been elected to the most powerful post in Italy multiple times. Not too surprising.

Control over the media translates to control over the ideas and issues discussed at election time. The more that control is concentrated into fewer hands, the less of a real democracy the nation becomes. Authoritarian regimes use the same method to win their sham elections. Since they control the media, they control all discussion and critiques of various policies. Once you control the ideas, you control what people will vote for. The more control of the media you have, the easier it is to control the vote.

While the electorate may not be "illiterate" in the sense that they can't read or engage in complex feats of engineering, they can still be rendered politically illiterate by surrounding them with media that only pretends to be "fair and balanced" or "pravda" when it is not.

As the gap between the rich and poor widens, it shouldn't be surprising that many members of the wealthy classes would use their growing power to influence the media. The more influence they gather, the more they can consolidate their wealth, and further widen the gap. If left unchecked, the democracy itself would be destroyed.

As Abraham Lincoln wrote in 1864:

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and cause me to tremble for the safety of my country; corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in High Places will follow, and the Money Power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the People, until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the Republic destroyed."

[Raúl Duke]

It's similar in concept to having the guy who runs Fox News elected president or PM of a country (U.S. or...isn't he Australian?)