Leaders were joking freeloaders – Lavitola

“Martinelli and Berlusconi are free loaders who like to joke” said the man in the center of a corruption scandal during a 10 hour interrogation on Thursday, April 26.

Valter Lavitola  went into denial mode during the interrogation in Naples, by Francesco Curcio, Vincenzo Piscitelli and Henry John Woodcock, who are investigating the scandal which involves Finmeccanica, the second largest public industrial group in Italy.

Lavitola denied paying bribes to the president of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli, to obtain lucrative contracts, according to a summary of the investigation.The freeloaders remark came from the transcript of the interview released by Il Corriere della Sera.

 Lavitola, who was arrested April 16 after disembarking from a flight from Argentina after six months on the run in Latin America is accused of corruption and bribes to Martinelli.

The controversial Italian journalist and businessman, accused of having been introduced as  an "intermediary" with  President Martinelli and Panama authorities for "illegal negotiations" in the country. Asked about the alleged gift of a luxury helicopter to Martinelli, Lavitola told prosecutors that was his idea but denied giving bribes to the president.

Giuseppe Orsi, Chief Executive Officer of Finmeccanica, the Italian giant in the eye of the storm was charged Monday (by the same Naples court investigating Lavitola) of international corruption in the case of  the sale of 12 helicopters to India.

Prosecutors argued that Lavitola was an adviser to Finmeccanica and was about to renew his contract for an amount of 70,000 euros a year plus expenses.

According to Lavitola he was  presented as a close associate of Berlusconi, whom he accompanied on his official visit to Panama in mid 2010 and Italy is committed to make substantial international contracts, "almost like a diplomat," he says.

"I did not want to be consul of Italy in Panama, but rather to be rather Consul of Panama in Italy," said Lavitola to explain the reasons why he said he invited and paid for a short holiday on the Italian island of Sardinia for  Martinelli and a group of his associates.

“Finmeccanica had to reimburse me the costs” he said.

Panama, through Acting Foreign Minister, Jose Raul Mulino, on Tuesday asked  the Italian authorities to officially clarify that "there was no corruption or bribery," in the contracts signed between the two countries.

Panama signed a contract in 2010 for about $ 250 million with Finmeccanica for the sale of six helicopters, 19 radar and a digital map.

The Panamanian authorities have warned in the midst of the scandal that they are willing to "reassess" contracts with Finmeccanica, which "could be canceled."