Wire taps of Martinelli-Lavitola conversations exposed
According to prosecutors in Naples, Valter Lavítola cultivated with President Panama, Ricardo Martinelli, "a close and absolute familiarity generating intense corruptive activity".
The news was carried on the front page of La Prensa on Sunday, April 22. .
“To support international corruption charges testimonial and documentary evidence was presented to the Ordinary Court of Naples. La Prensa had access to the information and inside two full pages were devoted to transcripts of phone conversations between Martinelli, and Lavitola and others in the government heirachy.
The prosecution docket includes hundreds of intercepted phone calls in which Lavítola repeatedly mentioned Martinelli, and talks with the Panamanian president himself, and with the Italian ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi.
The Italians pay special attention to the clandestine journey made by the Panamanian leader to the island of Sardinia (on behalf of Lavítola) in August 2011. This trip was only officially announced by the President after La Prensa became aware of this and made it public.
During that time, Naples prosecutors spent months following up on the activities of Lavítola and obtained judicial authorization to intercept hisr calls.
Italian prosecutors contend that "the cost of the Martinelli Italian visit was not an expense borne by Lavítola because of disinterested friendship, but an investment in past and future activities of corruption," according to court documents.
Martinelli has emphatically denied the charges of corruption, accepting he knew Lavítola but insisting that he was introduced by Berlusconi, who appointed him as his contact
La Prensa, in a first installment, of prosecution documents published the verbatim transcript of the telephone calls that prosecutors have filed in the courts and that are related to the August 2011 trip of Martinelli and which the authorities, believe constitute " macroscopic evidence "of relations between Lavítola and related interests and the Panamanian leader.
