A jailed Mafia hitman has sought to link the Italian Prime Minister and the Cosa Nostra, telling a court that a man convicted of bombing attacks had boasted of his links to Silvio Berlusconi.
Mafia 'pentito', or mobster-turned-witness, Gaspare Spatuzza told a court in Turin that a Mafia leader later jailed for a series of attacks in 1993 had named Mr Berlusconi, who had not entered politics at the time, in connection with the bombings.
He recounted a meeting with clan boss Giuseppe Graviano - later given multiple life sentences along with his brother for the bombings in Rome, Milan and Florence - in a cafe on Rome's Via Veneto early 1994, after the deadly bombing campaign.
'Graviano told me we had obtained everything, thanks to the seriousness of the people who'd helped with our affair ... he mentioned two names, he called Berlusconi - the man from Channel 5,' said Spatuzza.
He quoted Graviano saying: 'We have everything thanks to the seriousness of these people, specifically Berlusconi.'
Mr Berlusconi is not formally linked to the case, part of an appeal by a political and business associate. He has dismissed earlier evidence from Spatuzza to prosecutors as 'unfounded'.
The 73-year-old says biased courts are making false accusations to try to bring down the government and attack his Mediaset broadcasting empire.
Spatuzza was speaking in open court for the first time as part of an appeal by pro-Berlusconi senator Marcello Dell'Utri against his conviction for association with the Mafia.
He spoke behind a screen in a maximum-security room packed with reporters.
Mr Dell'Utri, who is fighting against a nine-year jail term, said the mob was attempting to bring down Berlusconi.
Mr Berlusconi has been stripped of immunity from prosecution, enabling his trial in Milan to resume, in which he is accused of bribing a British lawyer €400,000 in 1997 to withhold evidence on his business dealings.
However the court later conceded that Mr Berlusconi's official duties were a legitimate reason to postpone the trial this morning.
The Prime Minister's lawyers argued he had to meet his cabinet and then open a new highway in southern
Mr Berlusconi later changed his plans and did not attend the highway opening at all.
