Italian police announced on August 10, 2026, at 1:24 PM EDT, the arrest of a businessman with historical ties to the late former premier Silvio Berlusconi, alleging he was the mastermind behind a bomb attack against prominent investigative journalist Sigfrido Ranucci. The incident, which occurred last year, targeted the journalist’s home in a residential area of Pomezia, located approximately 12 miles south of Rome.
Carabinieri police in Rome stated that Valter Lavitola, a former journalist and import-export entrepreneur who once owned a restaurant in the capital, was taken into custody for ordering the attack. Authorities believe Lavitola and Ranucci were friends, despite the serious allegations. According to the arrest warrant cited in local reports, Lavitola allegedly orchestrated the bombing under the belief that the incident would increase Ranucci’s public profile ahead of a potential political career.
The explosion destroyed two vehicles belonging to Ranucci, who has faced numerous threats due to his reporting on political corruption and the mafia. The journalist was not injured in the blast, though he had only recently arrived home; his daughter had passed by the site of the explosion just half an hour earlier. Ranucci, who has lived under police protection since 2021, previously described Lavitola as a "true friend." The attack occurred on the eighth anniversary of the death of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was also killed by a car bomb.
Investigators allege that Lavitola instructed a man identified as Tavares Gomes Clesio to recruit four others to plant the device. While the four men tasked with carrying out the bombing were arrested near Naples in June, police are still searching for Gomes. Records indicate that Lavitola and Gomes conducted an exploratory inspection of the journalist's residence in September prior to the attack.
Lavitola is a well-known figure in Italian circles, having been closely associated with Berlusconi before the former prime minister's death in 2023. In 2015, both men were convicted by a lower court for the bribery of a senator, with both receiving three-year sentences. Prosecutors at the time alleged that Lavitola had personally delivered the bribe money to the lawmaker.
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