“Every attack they make against you only makes you stronger.” That line, sent in one of the many conversations between fixer Valter Lavitola and his friend, journalist Sigfrido Ranucci, sums up what investigators say was Lavitola’s criminal plan.

The Roman restaurateur, arrested Tuesday on suspicion of ordering an attack on the host of Report, has long cultivated close ties with powerful figures and influential entrepreneurs. He runs a fish market, but investigators say he was also planning to carve out “a leading role in Italian politics” and saw the Rai 3 host as a potential asset.

The idea, according to investigators, was to hire a hit squad to detonate a bomb outside the journalist’s home in Pomezia. The 200-page arrest order says the aim was, “in anticipation of a future candidacy, to make him a champion of a free press and stir deep public feelings of identification and solidarity, easily translated into electoral support.”

In other words, investigators allege that Lavitola wanted to boost Ranucci’s popularity so he could eventually benefit from it himself and become the journalist’s political strategist.

The Man Who Linked Lavitola to the Hit Squad

Lavitola has been jailed under a pretrial detention order, and prosecutors have also accused him of using mafia-style methods.

His right-hand man, Gomes Tavares Clesio, known as “O’Nir,” is on the run. Investigators say he recruited the members of the hit squad before fleeing to Cameroon.

Tavares has told reporters that “he would like to give his version of events” and had planned to return to Italy the following week. Now, however, an arrest warrant has been issued for him.

“Before I come back, I need to ask myself some questions,” he said.

According to investigators working under Rome Chief Prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi, Tavares was the link between the restaurateur and the hit squad. He had known some members of the group for years. They had his number saved under the nickname “Fratmo,” or “my brother,” and would turn to him for “a little work in a suit and tie” as security guards at evening events.

Tavares and Lavitola had also spent time in the same prison at Secondigliano about a decade ago. Since 2017, Tavares has worked at Lavitola’s restaurant in Rome’s Monteverde neighborhood.

According to the investigation, initially handled by prosecutor Carlo Villani and now by his colleague Edoardo De Santis, Ranucci also knew the trusted fixer. A photograph shows the two together in 2022.

There was more. In October 2024, Ranucci confided in Lavitola that he was “having a hard time with everything,” but intended to keep going. Lavitola asked whether he could help him in some way. Ranucci replied jokingly: “You should lend me Gomes.”

The Bombing in Pomezia

On Oct. 16, 2025, an explosive device detonated outside Ranucci’s home in Pomezia. His attorney, Roberto De Vita, said the arrest now confirms “the seriousness of the attack, making it essential to understand the motive.”

Investigators from the Rome Carabinieri investigative unit examined hundreds of surveillance-camera recordings from the area, cross-referenced license plates and documents and reviewed investigations carried out by Ranucci’s television program.

Hundreds of hours of wiretaps were also analyzed.

The members of the hit squad were arrested on June 30. Investigators describe them as mercenaries who knew nothing about the identity of the alleged mastermind.

What led investigators to focus on Lavitola — and to search his home on July 4, shortly before he was due to head to the airport for a flight to Addis Ababa — were several phone conversations involving Tavares, his partner and the restaurateur.

In one exchange, Lavitola told Tavares: “My son, contact my lawyers. Talk to them directly because I don’t want to compromise my position. I’ll send you the charges. Try to find out whether your house was searched, too.”

“Criminal Audacity and Sophistication”

Lavitola, who has also worked as a journalist, acted with what investigators describe as “criminal audacity and sophistication.”

According to the case files, he first used his relationship of trust with Ranucci to present himself as the Report host’s supporter and defender against everyone and everything. He listened to Ranucci’s confidence and frustrations, floated the possibility of a political career and commissioned polls and dossiers.

Then came the attack — followed by attempts to mislead investigators.

After his home was searched, Lavitola reportedly told people about his legal troubles. He projected confidence and said he had challenged investigators to explain the motive.

“To do him a favor. That’s what they told me,” he said.

He then went further: “If I’m the mastermind, then that means Ranucci was in on it, too.”

That claim fueled whispers and speculation.

The judge, however, wrote in the case files: “Ranucci was clearly unrelated to the plan.”

The case files indicate that the journalist had been “the victim of manipulation” by his friend — a man who, investigators say, knew how to identify and exploit both Ranucci’s ambitions and his fears.