Ranucci assassination: Lavitola charged with mass murder and membership of a mafia organisation. But the journalist defends him

The entrepreneur and former journalist and publisher Valter Lavitola is under investigation in connection with the attack on Sigfrido Ranucci which took place last October in Rome. Lavitola’s premises were searched by the Carabinieri from the Rome and Frascati Investigative Unit, acting on a warrant issued by prosecutors from the Anti-Mafia Directorate (DDA). According to the evidence gathered, the businessman is believed to be the instigator of the attack.

During the search, the investigators seized the mobile phone and the computer. The investigation into the motive is still ongoing. Four people were arrested on Tuesday. According to Public Prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi and prosecutors Carlo Villani (now Public Prosecutor in Velletri) and Edoardo De Santis, the gang is responsible for carrying out the bomb attack. Lavitola and the four others are charged jointly with the possession, carrying in a public place and use of an explosive device, as well as making threats and causing damage, all aggravated by the use of mafia methods.

The Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office is also charging him with mass murder. This is evident from the search warrant issued on 4 July by the prosecutors. According to the prosecutors, Lavitola is the instigator of the crime. He is charged with this offence in conjunction with members of the gang arrested last week and with Gomes Clesio Tavares, a 47-year-old Cameroonian national believed to be the intermediary between the businessman and the perpetrators.

The document states that Lavitola allegedly instructed Clesio Tavares to ‘identify individuals capable of obtaining explosives and detonating them outside the journalist’s home’; and that Lavitola, on 16 September, a month before the attack, he allegedly carried out a site inspection with the 47-year-old ‘near the home’ of the presenter of *Report*.

“This news has left me feeling quite stunned. Valter and I became friends after he was the subject of our investigations; he was also an important source for some of Report’s investigations. I am convinced – until I see the evidence, of course – of his innocence. However, I am convinced that even if he were found to be responsible, he would never have harmed me or my family.” This is how Sigfrido Ranucci comments in a video on the news that the businessman Valter Lavitola is under investigation in connection with the attack on the journalist in Pomezia (Rome) in October 2025. “I have complete faith in the investigations by the Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office,” adds Ranucci, “which, together with the Carabinieri unit in Via In Selci – an investigative unit – has conducted a very thorough inquiry, including from an ethical standpoint. We shall see how things develop.” “Valter,” the presenter of *Report* emphasised further, “has always had dealings with journalists – let’s not forget that he was, first and foremost, the editor of *Avanti* and has maintained relations with me and with journalists far more influential than myself – so let’s see where these investigations lead.”