The events underway in relation to a case of alleged snooping by a police officer on politicians and VIPs are "extremely serious", National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor Giovanni Melillo told Parliament's Anti-Mafia Commission on Wednesday.
However, Melillo also said "the extreme complexity of correctly and rigorously managing the databases collecting that and other no less sensitive information in order to repress crimes must be underscored".
The National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor asked to be heard by the parliamentary commission in relation to an investigation by prosecutors in Perugia into alleged dossiers compiled by a tax police officer against many top politicians, mostly on the right, and VIPs including rapper Fedez and soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo.
Perugia Chief Prosecutor Raffaele Cantone is to be heard by the same committee on Thursday morning.
"I asked to be heard so that the facts and issues can be properly grasped and to ward off the danger of misinformation, speculation and instrumental readings of events concerning delicate state functions," continued Melillo.
"To say nothing of the outbursts of disordered polemics that seem to aim not at analyzing reality and contributing to its understanding and to the advancement of the balances within the system, but at undermining the image of the office and delegitimising the idea of neutral institutions such as the National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor's Office and perhaps even the Bank of Italy," he added.
Melillo said the "awareness of the extreme seriousness of the risks weighing on the image of transparency, correctness and reliability of all the institutions that handle confidential information can usefully contribute to assessing the adequacy of the current technological legislative instruments and the necessary arrangements of the public administration to ensure the protection of the secrecy of office and investigation, but also of those involved in the possible misuse of that information and any other information assets, but also to protect the security of the Republic".
Finance police officer Pasquale Striano is alleged to have illegally accessed the data of a wide range of public figures including Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, Business Minister Adolfo Urso, Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, Labour Minister Marina Elvira Calderone, Environment and Energy Security Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara, Silvio Berlusconi's former partner and MP Marta Fascina, ex-premiers Giuseppe Conte (and his partner Olivia Paladino) and Matteo Renzi, rapper and TV personality Fedez, soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri, business group Confindustria chief Carlo Bonomi and League leader Matteo Salvini's girlfriend Francesca Verdini while he was deployed at the National Anti-mafia Prosecutor's Department.
Prosecutors believe that some of the data allegedly obtained by Striano was used for journalist purposes, while other data may have been passed on to a private investigator or used by Striano for personal purposes.
A number of journalists are among 14 people under investigation in relation to the case.
However, Melillo told the parliamentary anti-mafia commission he thought it unlikely Striano had acted alone.
"I believe there are many elements that conflict with the idea of an action conceived and organised by a single, supposedly unfaithful officer," he said.
"One of the central points of Perugia prosecutors will be to understand Striano's person and system of relations," he added.
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