The Delmastro case: MPs will be able to view the chats with Caroccia

From 10 am tomorrow morning, members of the Montecitorio Authorisations Committee will be able to consult the documentation sent to the Chamber by the Rome Public Prosecutor, Francesco Lo Voi, together with the letter addressed to the Speaker, Lorenzo Fontana, regarding the case of the former Under-Secretary of State for Justice, Andrea Delmastro, and his chat messages with the owner of ‘Bisteccherie d’Italia’ Mauro Caroccia, who is under investigation for money laundering and the use of false names and is believed to have links to the Senese Camorra clan. This decision was taken by the Chair of the Committee, Davis Dori (AVS), who this morning convened an urgent meeting of the Bureau to discuss the letter sent yesterday by Lo Voi to Fontana specifically regarding the use of those chat messages, thereby postponing the vote on the case scheduled for today in the Chamber of Deputies. 

In his letter, Lo Voi wrote that he considered it “absolutely necessary to verify, by comparing the contents of the seized mobile phone, that the messages stored on it correspond exactly to those produced by the defence and that the documentation produced by the defence is complete”. The point on which the prosecutor insists is, in fact, the “verification of the correspondence between the seized material and that produced by the defence”.

“The majority,” explained Dori at the end of the Executive Committee meeting, “does not wish to grant access to the documentation and chat logs sent by the Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office. I, however, have a duty, as chair, to safeguard the right of all Executive Committee members to view the documentation in order to gain a complete picture. There is no reason for the Executive Committee to deny itself such access, even within the usual limits on disclosure. Therefore,” said Dori, “I will give the offices the go-ahead – given that there are various precedents – to view the documentation from tomorrow morning onwards, so that access can be organised in accordance with non-disclosure criteria. The Executive Committee has never restricted its own access. There are precedents in this regard and I do not intend to compromise the rights of the commissioners or violate parliamentary prerogatives.” Dori explained that, along with the letter to President Fontana, the Chief Public Prosecutor of Rome had attached a CD which has not yet been opened but which – as the Council President himself explains – is expected to contain “the chat logs submitted by Caroccia’s lawyer”. Lo Voi, Dori continued, “effectively needs to verify whether what has been submitted by Caroccia’s defence team matches the seized device. Whether there is a perfect match or whether something is missing.”

On Monday or Tuesday, the Executive Committee will meet to decide by a vote whether, in light of Lo Voi’s letter, a further investigation is required – and therefore further consideration by the Executive Committee – or whether the Chamber may vote on the proposal to reject the request for authorisation to examine the conversations between Delmastro and Carroccia.

Meanwhile, Fratelli d’Italia is considering appealing against President Dori’s decision. This was explained by Dario Iaia, Fdi group leader on the Chamber of Deputies’ Executive Committee, when speaking to journalists. “We are considering it; we’ll see. We were opposed” to Dori’s decision “because it sets a precedent”.