Dec 24 2006
Scaramella Arrested
In a strange twist to a strange story one of the key players in the litvinenko incident has been arrested:
Police today arrested an Italian security expert who met former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko the day he fell ill from poisoning.
Mario Scaramella was arrested in Naples, where he landed on his way back from London, Italian news agencies reported.
Rome prosecutors have been investigating Scaramella for violating secrets of his office and possible arms trafficking.
Scaramella may yet come back to be the key in all this. Unfortunately for him he will be spending Christmas in jail.
Wow. That didn’t go the way we were looking.
This is the most byzantine story in ages. Anyone else like Tom Wolfe to write the book and Tom Hanks to star in the movie?
There’s a long article about Scaramella here which I hadn’t seen before. Since it is from an Italian source it is quite informative.
It confirms that Scaramella plotted to smear and to frame Prodi.
Scaramella is charged with weapons smuggling and violating the country’s official secrets act – according to Italian news agency reports.
But apparently he was already the subject of legal process: “There is a major judiciary investigation launched by the Naples Procura, now transferred to the Rome Procura, into the financial and political dealings of Mario Scaramella.”
In a way it is odd that he hasn’t been picked up before. I had assumed that was because Mario was secret service.
Sorry – wrong link – should have been this:
http://www.eurotrib.com/?op=displaystory;sid=2006/12/4/18126/1834
Plotted to smear? ounds like Italian politics. Remember the lefty prosecutors’ endless attempts to convict Berlusconi?
I take it with a grain of salt.
two words: “arms trafficking”. A couple of weeks ago, the Italians seized his files and computers under the guise of waste contamination or something like that.
The Italian “buyer” is arrested.
In the Sgrena “freeing a happy kidnap victim” in Iraq, caused the head of the Itralian’s #1 secret spook (spoof?) to get his brains shot out. As Sgrena screamed about the “hundreds of casings.” And, while we were told he was laying on top of her; to save her life.
We never did find out the name of the American Colonel waiting at the get-away-plane. He was there, because? Well, his badge would have stopped anybody in Iraq, trying to “slow down the get-away” car.) I suppose?
One dead body got in the way.
So, we know the story.
Here? One dead smuggler’s body, in a casket, couldn’t get “into” the mosque. (Which means muslims fear radiation poisoning to a greater extent than others in Londonstan.)
While this time? Scaramella is “arrested.” By the keystone cops.
As to Litvenenko, I am reminded that Madame Curie also died from MULTIPLE EXPOSURES TO POLONIUM.
In other words? Madame Curie didn’t know. And, because she was so impressed with the X-Ray results. That the pictures of our skeletons showed up on photographic film, where they were seen right through out garments. And, skin. And, all.
So, yes. Madame Curie teaches us that improper handling of polonium of MANY OCCASIONS, can lead to catrastrophy.
And, then, of course, there are the tell-tale signs of multiple times the radiation poisoning, or “alpha particles,” shows up. Pointing to more than one occasion where this stuff was haphazardly handled.
While the whole assassination story still exists. Courtesy of PR. And, yes. Scaramella “somehow knowing the story line.” Without ever having to divulge “exactly what he was doing “there.”
Power to PR, I guess?
And, to the Italians? Well, their suddenly arresting Scaramella, is indeed “arresting,” as story plots turn, here.
But the Italians aren’t ham fisted? Sure, they are!
Not to forget, the Italians also tried to screw up the
WMD charges in Bush’s stated in the union, address. Remember? Amb. Wilson “knew” about the fraudulent documents 8-months before the “birth date” to same. Go figa.
Those Italians. Now, whom do you trust?
I came across an interesting article today on Scaramella, dating back about 10 days ago. Here’s the money quote:
“Mario Scaramella has admitted to Italian authorities that he and Litvinenko discussed an illegal arms shipment passing through Italy en route to Russia (apparently headed for Chechen terrorists for use against Russian premier Putin, the arch-rival of Litvinenko’s boss Russian-Mafia billionaire Berezovsky, who recently admitted he has been plotting a coup to overthrow Putin.)”
The net article also quotes the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that Scaramella “may now face charges for his role in arms trafficking.”
http://www.disinfo.com/site/displayarticle18031.html
Hear, hear.
Interesting-but I would suggest treating with caution. (This is, by the way,one of the few websites where “big” stories are treated with the caution they deserve.Keep it up !!!)
Of course when someone investigates a man of Prodi’s high office, he had better be prepared for fireworks. While Scaramella was in London, the Italians raided his home and took his papers and computers. I wouldn’t be too quick to judge. This could be payback from Prodi. Even if he discussed the arms with Litvinenko that does not mean he was involved in the shipment. I am not judging either way but will keep an open mind.
Interesting point from Barbara.
Especially since you have to ask: why would anyone volunteer such sensitive information in the first place? (If story is true.)
Any arms shipment bound for Chechen terrorists would have the full blessing and resources of the CIA to speed it on its way.
The funding would come from organised crime. (Berezovsky, other ex-Yukos mobsters.) Or, in the normal way, from the US Government and then laundered by organised crime.
But it’s not the kinda stuff you go public with.
There is a possibility in all this that Litvinenko was Putin’s man after all. His role and training was to infiltrate organised crime.
Let’s also suppose also that Scaramella is a double – hence his long association with Litvinenko. We know back to 2004 at least.
They both have much in common. Ludicrous allegations on behalf of the anti-Putin camp, to give themselves cred, but nothing of any real threat or substance. In fact, the net result of Scaramella’s role in the Mitrokhin commission has been to discredit Guzzanti, Berlusconi and Berezovsky comrades like Limarev.
Note that in the end, the Mitrokhin commission report closed without a line of input from Scaramella – his spin was too far fetched. Hmmmm.
Reportedly, Italian magistrates asked Italian security if Scaramella was working for them. I guess that they would have checked with the CIA? Apparently not. Or he’s been thrown to the wolves.
There was some problem reported recently concerning Scaramella and some shipment of uranium. I wouldn’t read a whole lot into this yet unless some interesting material has turned up in the investigation of some of his computers and the like.
Nobody’s ever given an award to the strangest story that fell out of the media, on 9/11. But I remember one. In it?
At some media outlet, the jerk in charge INSTRUCTED everyone who WANTED T BURY A STORY, to release it “now.” With the “now” being while everyone was stunned, and viewing the destruction at the World Trade Center.
Let’s see if there’s a pattern?
Scaramella, arrested on Christmas Eve.
If this was only the media’s day, I’d say he was arrested so that it falls under the radar.
On the other hand?
I’ve never suspected assassination. Just contamination. And, not all at once, like the world saw at Chernobyl. But due to negligence.
As if a criminal never shot himself with his own gun!
And, ya know what? It was here, where AJ pointed out (while Litvenenko was still breathing), … HOW ODD IT WAS THAT THE GOLDFARB PR GUY SHOWED UP.
Not everybody who is worried about dying because an assassin “got him,” goes and finds a PR guy, ya know?
Heck, even Oswald didn’t do that!
And, we’ve been getting funny press stories ever since.
With more and more evil shits rising in this world, on all the wealth they collect from oil. (Even putin’s grabbing what had belonged to “joint efforts,” after contracts were signed.)
While the UN also tossed honesty and truth, overboard.
Seems, though, sometimes chickens still return to hatch?
Does anybody know or has any ideas about why autopsy report was not released for so long. .
My guess is that the Scotland Yard is no longer in control of the investigation, COBRA is. It is clear that things went out of control and the anti-Putin spin is now unspinning fast. They have to either falsify the report, which won’t be the first or the last one, or to somehow integrate its findings into the passable and politically safe interpretation. Scaramella’s arrest seems to be utmost importance for this case. He was heavily involved with the CIA, including the CIA guys the Italians want to arrest. His communications with Litvinenko and God knows with who else, were tapped not only by the Italians, of course. I assume both the Brits and the Russians knew about the “dirty bomb” conspiracy. Something like this was coming simply because it was the next logical thing to do after Beslan. Recall Lugovoi’s mysterious phrase during his first interview in Moscow: I think I was entangled into some kind of game between British and Russian inteligence services. Now, what kind of game it could be? It depends who was behind Litvinenko’s plot: the CIA, the Brits, someone else? But once the Russians had learned, perhaps, from Italians, L. had to go. That was in all parties’ interests. The only question was how to benefit from his death by turning it into an asset in the psychological warfare? At first it seemed that the Brits and the Yanks were able to exploit the murder, most likely committed by “negligence,” say, the container was tempered in a such a way that L. will be poisoned carrying it or being close to it. But Prodi turned out to be a wild card, and Russians might have helped things to reveal their other side.
Scotland Yard is insisting that the arrest has absolutely nothing to do with the Litvinenko investigation.
For the rest, the story has been buried as many suggested it would.
Still, Mario was a very colourful character while he lasted.
About radiation.
I had been talking to my son about Madame Curie. And, he mentioned this:
Madame Curie had kept cookbooks. That are so radioactive TO THIS DAY, the pages are protected by lead shields.
Again, tot the “HOW.”
How did so much contamiation “leak?”
And, no. I don’t think this was an assassination plot, per-say.
I think there was mishandling of the “merchandise,” and just like at Chernobyl what blew up blew the cover off an entire misbegotten smuggling ring. Which includes the Italians. (With no surprises, here.)
WIthout a scorecard we just don’t know who is winning. And, who is losing. Though I do agree with Burtsev. Definitely planned to be worse than Beslan!
From “you know who.” And, the answer isn’t putin. (putin’s off to the side, playing his own game.)
While in Iraq? Bush is not gonna run with his tail between his legs! The militias are gonna take a beating. (They are as we speak.)
And, in 2007 tables will be turned.
Scotland Yard? Perhaps just an arm of the PR machine that Goldfarb manipulated.
But you want to know the truth? The spooks will never disclose this! And, whatever happened, there are no fingerprints.
Just mishandled radiation poisoning. Of the type that Madame Curie did not smell, or taste. And, that happened, anyway. Where after the fact, the half-life of some of the stuff “still needs to be shielded in lead.”
I think I missed something somewhere along the way. This has now turned from a Putin assassination into a CIA hit?