Hitman claims Berlusconi involved in 1993 bombing campaign

Silvio Berlusconi has been accused by a jailed hitman of being involved in a 1993 Mafia bombing campaign. The Italian premier is not, however, formally linked to this case but is currently on trial for corruption.

REUTERS - A jailed hitman told an Italian court on Friday that a mobster convicted for a 1993 Mafia bombing campaign had told him that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was connected to the Cosa Nostra.

The “pentito” or mobster-turned-witness Gaspare Spatuzza told a court in Turin that a Mafia clan leader later jailed for the bombings had named Berlusconi, a media mogul who had not yet entered politics at the time, in connection with the bombings.

Berlusconi is not formally linked to the case which is part of an appeal against conviction on Mafia charges by one of his political and business associates. The premier has dismissed earlier evidence from Spatuzza to prosecutors as "unfounded".

Spatuzza was being heard in open court for the first time as part of an appeal by Berlusconi ally Marcello Dell’Utri against his conviction for association with the Mafia. 

Date created : 2009-12-04