From the premier to Gianni Letta, the owner of the pharmaceutical company has relations with half the government to obtain the amendment that favors his medicines. While the daughter "takes care" of relations with the press. According to the Florence prosecutor's office, the Aleotti family has set up a scam to the National Health Service of 860 million euros
Dinner with Silvio Berlusconi, talks to Gianni Letta and meets half the government: the Undersecretary of Health Ferruccio Fazio, Claudius Scajola, Maurizio Sacconi Altero Matteoli, Raffaele Fitto. The owner of Menarini, Sergio Alberto Aleotti, while doing business all over the world, he looks for "support" in Italy and winks at the most influential personalities, ministers and senators-friends. According to the magistrates, all with a single purpose: to bring about what is called, not surprisingly, "the Menarini amendment". Not only. He also undertakes, according to the investigators, to continue the drug scam with "inflated" prices causing damage to the National Health Service of 860 million. And, to him, an unjust profit of 575 million.
This is in summary the picture painted by the Florence prosecutor's office in the investigation which sees 15 people accused, for various reasons, of fraud, corruption, money laundering and the tax crime of omitted tax return. Among them the Aleotti family and the PDL senator Cesare Cursi, the only politician under investigation in the Menarini investigation. Former Undersecretary of Health and President of the Industry Commission, Cursi will have to answer for corruption in competition with Sergio Alberto Aleotti and his daughter Lucia. Many others then the key characters for their role played, according to the indictment, in the satellite or fictitious companies used as a transit to raise the cost of drugs. And the earnings.
Pressing politicians, meetings and dinners. The "strong pressure on politicians" was exercised through "a whirlwind round of meetings" with government officials, write the magistrates. The Carabinieri of the Nas of Florence have reconstructed the contacts between the top management of the pharmaceutical giant and the parliamentarians. Among them also Berlusconi. The premier dinner with Aleotti at Villa Madama on 6 May 2009. At the table "the president wanted me close and at a certain point I had the courage to say: I imagine Mr. President that you also had some influence on that matter" says the founder of the pharmaceutical company. Patron Menarini doesn't know that this conversation is with the disappearance Maria Angiolillo, widow of the founder of The weather, is intercepted. Just as he doesn't know yet that it will be him, between phone calls and documents, who will involuntarily provide a significant amount of evidence. From 4 September 2008 to 17 November, 13 meetings were recorded between the Aleottis and Undersecretary Fazio, then Minister for Economic Development Scajola, Undersecretary Lauro and the President of the Industry Commission Cursi. But also meetings, as reported in a "memo", with Fitto, Sacconi and Matteoli. Subsequently, on 4 February 2009, Aleotti will &agr