Quarrel live between Luciano Garofano and the lawyer De Rensis on «Storie Italiane». Possible new developments on the case and shadows on the Prosecutor’s Office
Luciano Garofano, former general of the Carabinieri and former commander of the Ris of Parma, he had decided on 30 September to leave his position as defense consultant to Andrea Sempiothe suspect for the murder of Chiara Poggi in Garlasco. Forensic biologist and toxicologist, Garofano is a big name in the Italian investigative scene: dalla Erba massacre al Cogne crimefrom the case of Novi Ligure until Garlascohis curriculum is among the best known in the country in this field.
Yet, precisely on one of the cases in which he was the protagonist, he arrived a slip that is sensational. During an episode of the program «Italian Stories» conducted by Eleonora Danielethe general found himself at the center of a heated confrontation with the lawyer Gian Luigi De Rensislawyer of Alberto Stasi.
“Naive? I don’t accept it”
The bone of contention dates back to when De Rensis defined Garofano as “naive” in the previous episode. A term that the former commander of the RIS had difficulty digesting, like a heavy Christmas dinner: «Yesterday he defined me as naive, a term that sincerely I didn’t like it very much”, said Garofano, explaining that that word “could make one think of superficiality in my work”.
De Rensis attempted to put out the flame: «Etymologically naive means purity, honesty, frankness. If you are offended, I am astonishedbecause I believe that in recent days some details have been reported about his activity that I have not shared.” But the general did not intend to let it go, and fueled the debate by replying that the lawyer “had linked the adjective naive to my role in 2007, insinuating that I had been careless”.
Garofano’s gaffe
The confrontation became even more tense when De Rensis asked if Garofano had spoken about Garlasco on TV without declaring that he was a party consultant: «Did you by any chance, during a broadcast by another broadcaster, go into the merits of the matter without specifying that you were already a consultant for Andrea Sempio? Why, if we present ourselves as a party to the dispute, I believe we should inform the public, otherwise you risk appearing like a third-party commentator». A legitimate question, but one that caught the general by surprise, clearly uncomfortable. «I don’t remember if I participated and in which broadcast, but I had no duty to say so», replied Garofano, visibly annoyed.
From an expert of his caliber, used to moving between courts and cameras, to dealing with the most intricate and complex news cases, such lightness really appears like a blunder. On TV and in the judicial debate, conflict of interest is in fact a very delicate issue: not declaring one’s role can compromise the perception of neutrality, even if there is no malice.
De Rensiswith a firm but cutting tone, further sunk the blow: «Television records everything. THEor I say what I want, and I said coulda, shouldn’ta, which has a whole other meaning. If the term naive struck you, I’m proud of it: it means frankness, purity, transparency.”
The final détente does not erase the gaffe
Both then chose the path of détente. “I don’t want to come off as naive,” Garofano concludedwhile De Rensis replied: «The general is an elegant man, I am convinced that he acted in good faith».
An apparent peace that did not erase the impression left by the confrontation: a former commander of the RIS, a symbol of precision and lucidity, stumbled into a television gaffe that caused a stir. A misstep which, in a case as delicate as that of Garlasco, weighs much more than the simple word “naive”.
De Rensis announces news
There’s more. From the study of «Who saw it»the lawyer De Rensis dropped a new bomb: soon, he said, there will be developments in the Garlasco case. The lawyer replied to his colleague Massimo Lovatiformer defender of Andrea Sempio, who he had dismissed the accusations against the Sempio family as “ridiculous”.
«Giada Bocellari and me We don’t think this investigation is funny. It might make someone cryand it is not certain that the path is the one indicated by my colleague Lovati, that is, that the investigation into Sempio leads to Clean. Who knows, perhaps the investigation into Clean may have revealed something in the Garlasco investigation”, declared De Rensis, implying that the investigation on alleged corruption in the Prosecutor’s Office it could reveal new links with the Poggi case.
«Pavia system» and shadows on the Prosecutor’s Office
Lovati, for its part, spoke of a “pick-pick” investigationuseful for discovering any connections between the Pavia investigations and alleged cases of corruption. The prosecutors hypothesize that Giuseppe SempioAndrea’s father, may have paid 35,000 euros to influence the investigations. Lovati forcefully rejects: «Money used only to pay lawyers».
The former prosecutor Mario Vendittinow retired but under investigation in Brescia for corruption in judicial documents, He called the accusations “a hot water discovery”: «The formula used to postpone the filing of wiretaps is a common practice for all prosecutors in the most serious cases», he declared through his lawyer.
Venditti also recalled that the decision to close the investigation into Sempio was a collegial onesigned by three magistrates, and shared with the General Prosecutor’s Office of Milan.
