An attack on the Palermo
courthouse is allegedly in the planning, confidential sources
said Wednesday.
Judicial sources confirmed the news, and Sicilian
public-order authorities are gathered in an emergency meeting to
discuss new security measures.
A letter containing death threats to Palermo chief
prosecutor Roberto Scarpinato and the carabinieri officer in
charge of courthouse security was delivered to the ANSA Palermo
newsroom earlier on Wednesday.
"Watch out we've prepared a crackling present for
Scarpinato and the courthouse carabinieri chief," said the
missive signed P.R.A.
The initials are unknown to security forces.
Scarpinato was the chief prosecutor in the 1996-2004 trial
of former premier Giulio Andreotti, who was found guilty of
long-term Mafia association but acquitted on grounds that the
crime had timed out.
Scarpinato has also led hard-hitting investigations into
the slayings of anti-Mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and
Paolo Borsellino, as well as into the relationship between the
Mafia and the masons, the Mafia and the financial system, and
alleged negotiations between the State and the Mafia.
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