
Arrested Italian businessman Valter Lavitola has admitted to ordering the bomb attack on journalist and "Report" show host Sigfrido Ranucci.
During the preliminary hearing, which lasted more than five hours, Lavitola said he planted the bomb to "protect" Ranucci, who he said was under threat. He denied any political motive.
"I planted that bomb because Ranucci was in danger, he was under threat. A bomb for his own good, to increase his level of protection. "I did all this to protect the safety of Ranucci, who was the target of several dangerous attempts to attack him, and to increase his security forces," he declared.
His version was disputed by Ranucci's lawyer, who recalled that Ranucci had had an uninterrupted escort since 2021.
Investigators suspect that Lavitola may have a broader plan for Ranucci behind the attack. According to them, the businessman had told the journalist that "in two years you will become prime minister" and had even started thinking about polls in which Ranucci would be included as a candidate.
Recall that on June 30, four precautionary measures were executed against three men Pellegrino D'Avino, Saverio Mutone, Antonio Passariello and a woman Marika De Filippis (D'Avino's wife), who are believed to be the perpetrators of the attack and are accused of various charges of possession, possession in a public place and use of an explosive device, threats and damage, aggravated by the fact that more than five people acted in a mafia-like manner. Lavitola is accused of massacre.
Also under investigation, along with the businessman, is a 47-year-old Cameroonian man, Gomes Clesio Tavares. According to investigators, he acted as an intermediary between Lavitola and the group of individuals who later carried out the attack on Sigfrido Ranucci.
Valter Lavitola is accused of “drafting the criminal plan, giving instructions to Gomes to identify individuals capable of providing the explosives and carrying out the demonstration attack in front of the journalist’s villa.” According to prosecutors, Lavitola himself personally participated with Gomes in the first exploratory inspection in Pomezia, on September 15 of last year.
The Cameroonian national is suspected of subsequently "recruiting and training the perpetrators", namely the gang of four people, and "participating in a second raid on the Lazio coast on October 10, 2025, putting his father-in-law's car at the disposal of the command".