Sensational turning point in the investigation into the murder of Piersanti Mattarella , former President of the Sicilian Region and brother of the President of the Republic Sergio, killed by Cosa Nostra on 6 January 1980 in Palermo .
The DIA (Italian Anti-Mafia Investigation Department) has notified Filippo Piritore, a former officer of the Palermo Flying Squad and former prefect, of the house arrest order. Piritore is under investigation for obstructing the investigation into the murder: questioned by prosecutors about the glove found on the day of the crime in the Fiat 127 used by the killers, which was never recovered or seized , according to the magistrates, "he made statements that proved to be completely uncorroborated, which contributed to misleading the investigation, also leading to the discovery of the glove (which was never recovered)."
The glove, considered a crucial piece of evidence in tracing the perpetrators of the murder, has vanished into thin air. And according to investigators, it was Piritore who made it disappear. To prosecutors, who questioned him as a witness in September 2024, Piritore told—a lie, according to the Palermo Prosecutor's Office—that he had initially entrusted the glove to Forensic Police officer Di Natale, who was supposed to give it to Pietro Grasso, then deputy prosecutor in charge of the crime investigation.
The magistrate, according to Piritore, then arranged for the evidence to be returned to the Regional Scientific Police Office, and Piritore then handed it over, along with the relevant certificate, to another member of the Palermo Scientific Police, Lauricella, for technical investigation.
The suspect also claimed that the Flying Squad had a note confirming the delivery. According to the prosecution, however, the former official's story is far-fetched and illogical, suggesting that crucial evidence, so much so that even then-Interior Minister Rognoni was informed of its existence, was tossed around for days without reason from one office to another.
