It was the latest twist in the saga of a death that was initially deemed a suicide — but in which the victim’s wife suspected foul play as the bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, was reeling from scandal, as previously reported by The Post.
asserted
bank → deem → Post
An Italian parliamentary commission said Monday that ex-chair of Monte dei Paschi Giuseppe Mussari sent goons to rough up the bank’s communications chief David Rossi in 2013, but didn’t intend to have him killed, the Financial Times reported Monday.
asserted
Times → say → 2013
A man named Gabriele Ceccherelli was accused of organizing the nasty job and selecting the attackers, who were not named.
asserted
who → name → attackers
The matter is being referred to prosecutors, since it is not up to the commission to probe Mussari or Ceccherelli, said chairman Gianluca Vinci, a lawmaker from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s ruling party.
asserted
Vinci → refer → party
Mussari strongly denied the allegation to Italian TV, saying he would move to protect his rep in court, according to the FT.
uncertain
he → deny → FT
On the night of March 6, 2013, Rossi plunged from a window at the bank’s headquarters and died about 20 minutes later.
asserted
Rossi → plunge → headquarters
A new forensic assessment concluded that he was physically assaulted by at least two people before the fall.
asserted
he → conclude → fall
CCTV footage showed up to two men checking out the body before walking away without informing the authorities, the FT reported.
asserted
FT → show → authorities
And a note with the words “I have done something stupid” was discovered in Rossi’s office at the time.
asserted
I → do → time
A witness statement cited by the commission claimed that those behind the alleged plot has been “afraid Rossi might talk,” according to the Financial Times.
uncertain
Rossi → cite → Times
It was not clear what information they feared he might reveal.
uncertain
he → fear → information
The death came during a challenging time for Monte dei Paschi.
asserted
death → come → Paschi
Mussari had driven the bank’s 2008 $7.5 billion takeover of Banca Antonveneta in a deal many analysts viewed as overpriced.
asserted
analysts → drive → deal
Monte dei Paschi was also involved in risky derivatives that took major losses during the financial crisis that year.
asserted
that → involve → crisis
In October 2014, Mussari and two other Monte dei Paschi executives were convicted by Italian authorities for obstructing regulators and misleading investigators on the bailed-out Italian bank’s finances in the wake of the acquisition of Banca Antonveneta.
asserted
Mussari → convict → Antonveneta
As for Rossi’s death, it was initially treated as a suicide by Italian authorities — a conclusion his family long disputed.
asserted
family → treat → authorities
Two separate investigations into the incident were closed in 2014 and 2017.
asserted
investigations → close → 2014
A parliamentary inquiry in 2022 criticized the original investigation, citing what it described as bias toward the suicide theory and a failure to adequately pursue other possible explanations for Rossi’s death.
asserted
it → criticize → death
Rossi was one of three people in the banking industry whose deaths were labelled suicides from 2013 to 2014, as The Post reported.
asserted
Post → label → 2014
In each case, the victim had ties to a global banking scandal, leaving more questions than answers about the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
asserted
victim → have → deaths
The man had worked closely with Mussari for more than a decade, first handling communications for the Monte dei Paschi foundation before joining him at the bank when he became chairman in 2006.
asserted
he → work → 2006
Just 15 days before Rossi’s death, investigators searched Rossi’s home and office, as well as Mussari’s residence.
asserted
investigators → search → home
The communications chief had not been formally placed under investigation.
asserted
chief → place → investigation
Mussari was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison in 2019 in a separate case involving false accounting and market manipulation.
asserted
Mussari → sentence → accounting
The conviction was overturned on appeal in 2022, and Italy’s Supreme Court upheld his acquittal the following year.
asserted
Court → overturn → acquittal
Neither Mussari nor Ceccherelli had been placed under criminal investigation in connection with the new allegations as of Monday, according to Italian media reports.
uncertain
Mussari → place → reports
The Post sought comment from Mussari through his former defense firm, from Vinci and Rossi family attorney Carmelo Miceli through their respective offices, and from Monte dei Paschi and prosecutors in Siena.
asserted
Post → seek → Siena
The Aporia
