'Wiretaps will not be restricted': Orlando
The use of wiretaps, which the Italian police have for years depended on to ensnare mafiosi and corrupt politicians, will not be restricted as part of judicial reforms, Italy’s justice minister said on Thursday.
Despite concerns over privacy, Andrea Orlando told the National Association of Magistrates “there will be no restrictions on wiretaps”, La Repubblica reported.
The reforms, due to be introduced on Monday, will instead focus on de-clogging Italy’s court system as well as reintroducing false accounting, which was discriminalised under former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
The wiretap tactic has exposed many misdeeds of the country’s politicians, including Berlusconi, whose exploits and gaffes have often then been leaked to the press.
The three-time prime minister tried to restrict their use during his reign, “in the name of protecting citizens’ privacy”.
Berlusconi himself was last year convicted of arranging for a wiretap on a political rival to be published Il Giornale, a newspaper run by his brother.
The use of wiretaps has led to the capture of many Mafiosi. Rosy Bindy, the president of the Anti-Mafia Commission, was quoted in La Repubblica as saying, “interfering with wiretapping will always present some risk”.
The method has also potentially helped police solve the murder of Joe Petrosino, an American-Italian mafia investigator who was killed in Palermo in 1909, after a mafia suspect was caught on wiretap saying his father’s uncle was responsible for the murder.
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Despite concerns over privacy, Andrea Orlando told the National Association of Magistrates “there will be no restrictions on wiretaps”, La Repubblica reported.
The reforms, due to be introduced on Monday, will instead focus on de-clogging Italy’s court system as well as reintroducing false accounting, which was discriminalised under former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
The wiretap tactic has exposed many misdeeds of the country’s politicians, including Berlusconi, whose exploits and gaffes have often then been leaked to the press.
The three-time prime minister tried to restrict their use during his reign, “in the name of protecting citizens’ privacy”.
Berlusconi himself was last year convicted of arranging for a wiretap on a political rival to be published Il Giornale, a newspaper run by his brother.
The use of wiretaps has led to the capture of many Mafiosi. Rosy Bindy, the president of the Anti-Mafia Commission, was quoted in La Repubblica as saying, “interfering with wiretapping will always present some risk”.
The method has also potentially helped police solve the murder of Joe Petrosino, an American-Italian mafia investigator who was killed in Palermo in 1909, after a mafia suspect was caught on wiretap saying his father’s uncle was responsible for the murder.
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