Palermo Prosecutor General
Roberto Scarpinato's security has been beefed up after the
magistrate was subject to acts of intimidation and it was
discovered that the relevant images from the video camera inside
his office have gone missing, ANSA sources said Monday.
Scarpinato has been subject to threats on several
occasions.
Last year Cosa Nostra "boss of bosses" Toto' Riina spoke
of "one who was in Caltanissetta and is now in Palermo, one who
is extremely busy," apparently referring to Scarpinato, as he
made threats against magistrates in an intercepted conversation
with another jailed mobster.
Earlier this year a letter containing death threats to
Scarpinato and the Carabinieri officer in charge of courthouse
security was delivered to the ANSA Palermo newsroom.
"Watch out we've prepared a cracking present for Scarpinato
and the courthouse Carabinieri chief," said the missive signed
P.R.A.
The initials were unknown to security forces.
Scarpinato was the chief prosecutor in the 1996-2004 trial
of Giulio Andreotti, which culminated with the seven-time
premier being acquitted of Mafia association after the court
ruled that his dealings with the Mob, found to have lasted until
1980, were too far back in time to be punished.
Scarpinato has also led hard-hitting investigations into
the slayings of anti-Mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and
Paolo Borsellino, as well as into the relationship between the
Mafia and the masons, the Mafia and the financial system, and
alleged negotiations between the State and the Mafia.
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