Strike 1 against Italian high roller feted by Panama leaders

Valter Lavitola,the former Italian high roller in Panama ,feted by top government elected officials, has struck a deal with prosecutors in Naples in the first of three cases, and has been sentenced to jail.

Lavítola, the key player in negotiation between Panama and the Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica, agreed on Friday November 7 to a jail sentence of three years and eight months for the embezzlement of 23 million 200 thousand euros ($29.5 million), between 1997 and 2008.

The information was confirmed yesterday by Joan Solés, Rome correspondent of Panama’s radio Grupo Prisa, adding that the agreement implies the acceptance of the crime, and avoidance of a trial and perhaps a longer sentence.
The Ansa news agency reported that the deal was brokered by Lavitiola’s’s attorney, Gaetano Balicwith  prosecutors Vincenzo Piscitelli and Henry John Woodcock, and formalized in a hearing by the magistrate Francesco Cananzi.
According to Ansa, the case came to light after prosecutors tracked 23 million 200 thousand euros drawn between 1997 and 2008 by publishing company Avanti.
The money was paid to the  company for alleged tasks that never materialized but , ended up in bank accounts in South America.
According to  Solés, this process is one of three  faced by Lavítola
In another he is charged as an accompliceto   to the induction into prostitution of 42 women in erotic parties of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and for trying to extort $6 million from Berlusconi..
He is also accused by the Naples Prosecutor of Naples in a process of international corruption that involves Finmeccanica dignitaries, including the alleged payment of bribes to officials of Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Iran, India and other countries.
In this case, The former head of Finmeccanica ,Paolo Pozzessere has been detained since October, by the Rome prosecutor . The trial will throw a spotlight on the controversial multi-million dollar helicopter purchase by Panama, and allegations of bribery of top officials.