Tiziano Renzi, the father of
ex-premier Matteo Renzi, said Thursday that he has nothing to
hide and was ready to be questioned by investigators in relation
to a probe into alleged corruption at civil-service procurement
agency CONSIP.
As judicial sources said he would be questioned on Friday,
Tiziano Renzi, who is under investigation in the probe, said:
"I never asked for money. I never took money. Never.
"And I think that the magistrates have all the instruments to
verify this. I can't wait for the truth to come out. I want to
be questioned. I want them to verify everything about me. I have
nothing to hide. Nothing".
He added: "I never had secret meetings in grubby diners," as
reported in the press.
Renzi said "I feel like I'm living in a nightmare" and said
"when it ends I hope it gets the very same prominence in the
media".
L'Espresso magazine says in its issue to be published Sunday
that Renzi and former Berlusconi aide Denis Verdini "exerted
pressure" on CONSIP CEO Luigi Marroni, who reported this to
police.
According to papers released Wednesday, Tiziano Renzi and
pharmaceuticals businessman Carlo Russo "got promises of money"
as monthly payments from Alfredo Romeo, the high-profile
Campanian businessman arrested in the CONSIP probe.
The payments were allegedly for exerting influence over
Marroni, an acquaintance of the elder Renzi's, the papers said.
Romeo was arrested and taken to jail early on Wednesday over
the alleged corruption linked to CONSIP.
Judicial sources said Thursday he will be questioned on
Monday.
Romeo has "a network of institutional connections at a very
high level" which he uses "in an unscrupulous way to steer the
actions of the civil service to his advantage," a judge said in
the arrest warrant.
Investigators also seized assets worth around 100,000 euros
from a CONSIP official, Marco Gasparri, money that allegedly
stems from bribes from Romeo, sources said.
Carabinieri and finance police also conducted a series
searches related to Italo Bocchino, a former lawmaker for the
now-defunct centre-right People of Freedom Party (PdL).
As well as Tiziano Renzi, Sports Minister Luca Lotti is under
investigation in the probe too.
Lotti, seen as Matteo Renzi's right-hand man, said Wednesday
he was "extremely relaxed" regarding the probe.
All those involved have denied wrongdoing.
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