SISMI-Telecom scandal

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The SISMI-Telecom scandal, uncovered in Italy in 2006, refers to a surveillance scandal believed to have begun in 1996, under which more than 5,000 persons' phones were tapped.

1 First arrests
2 5,000 targets
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] First arrests

As part of the judiciary investigation on the Imam Rapito case, the Italian justice discovered an illegal domestic surveillance program run by Marco Mancini, former #2 of the SISMI military intelligence agency, with the help of Giuliano Tavaroli, former chief of security at the Italian Telecom company and of Pirelli, and private Florentine detective Emanuele Cipriani. All authorized requests made by magistrates to make wiretaps passed by Tavaroli ^[1].

On July 21, 2006, Adamo Bove, predecessor of Tavaroli as responsible of security at the Telecom company and former DIGOS member, committed suicide in Naples. Bove had discovered a flaw in the system which enabled people to enter the Telecom system and implement wiretaps without leaving a trace ^[1]. He had announced this fact to the Milan magistrates, leading to the top-secret investigation ^[1].

Giuliano Tavaroli, the chief of security of Telecom, was arrested on September 20, 2006, along with twenty others persons, including policemen and others members of the secret services, on charges of spying and corruption. The files included reports on the Democrats of the Left (DS) and others politicians ^[2].

Marco Mancini and Emanuele Cipriani were arrested on December 13, 2006. They were charged of conspiracy of corruption and of revealing professional secrets. Mancini allegedly received money from Cipriani and Tavaroli, who constituted approximatively 30 reports on magistrates, journalists, businessmens and politicians and members of others intelligence agencies (SISDE).

Using confidential information provided by Mancini via his work at SISMI, Cipriani is accused by the Italian magistrates to have constituted files on various figures of the political, mediatic and financial world ^[3].

[edit] 5,000 targets

Targets of the surveillance program included La Repubblica reporters Giuseppe D'Avanzo and Carlo Bonini, who broke the Yellowcake forgery story and who also broke this scandal. Valentino's creative director Alessandra Facchinetti was also tapped ^[4]. Further investigations uncovered that more than 5,000 persons ^[4] (including politicians, magistrates, football players and referees ^[1]) had been placed under illegal surveillance. The scheme, allegedly instigated by Giulio Tavaroli and Marco Mancini, is believed to have began in 1996 ^[4]. Data was analyzed using Enterprise Miner (from SAS System) and Analyst's Notebook ^[1].

According to La Repubblica, the main mystery concerned the exact use of these files. Money is one of the first, clear motive: participants to the deal, including Marco Mancini, Giuliano Tavaroli, Emanuele Cipriani, as well as former CIA agent John Spinelli, and a former SISDE fiduciary, Marco Bernardini, shared between them 20 millions euros. Mancini and Tavaroli met John Spinelli in 1986, when he was a CIA officer in charge of relationship with the Italian services. According to the investigations, both Tavaroli and Mancini were "related" to the CIA ^[2].