Bank executive 'accidentally dropped to his death from a window by thugs after chairman hired them to frighten him not to reveal mafia dealings'

A bank executive was accidentally dropped to his death after a group of thugs dangled him out of his office window in an attempt to frighten him into staying silent about dealings with the mafia, an Italian parliamentary inquiry has claimed. 

David Rossi, the communications director of Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena, plunged to his death in 2013.

His body was found beneath an open window at the bank's 14th-century headquarters in Siena, and investigators originally believed he had died by suicide. 

At the time of his death, the bank was facing a corruption scandal and suffering financial distress.  

In new evidence to a parliamentary commission investigating his death, two unnamed men have claimed that the ex-chairman of the bank, Giuseppe Mussari, had sent thugs to threaten Mr Rossi after he had decided to tell authorities about the bank's dealings with the mafia, but didn't intend to have him killed. 

The witnesses, who are both in prison, claimed the men dangled Mr Rossi from his office window to frighten him, only to accidentally drop him 60ft to his death. 

Committee Chair Gianluca Vinci said on Monday that others, including a prominent figure in Florence's football circles, allegedly selected the individuals who carried out the attack. 

According to witnesses, Mr Rossi was moving millions of euros from one account to another for the Grande Aracri clan, a powerful group within the southern Italian ’Ndrangheta organisation, and according to Mr Vinci, Mr Rossi was going to tell the authorities. 

The first witness claimed Mr Mussari had employed Gabriele Ceccherelli, a former member of a Florence team that plays calcio storico, a violent, medieval version of football, to orchestrate a plan to intimidate Mr Rossi. 

The witnesses said Mr Ceccherelli sent two teammates to threaten Mr Rossi, who told them he refused to stay silent and was then hung out of the window to persuade him.

'The original idea was only to scare Rossi, but then, fatally, it degenerated into murder,' the first witness said. 

The second witness said the men had parked their van at the entrance to the alley to stop passers-by from spotting Rossi as he lay dying. 

Mr Rossi's family have insisted he was murdered despite two magistrates' inquiries concluding the bank worker had taken his own life. 

A note saying: 'I have done something stupid' was found in a bin in his office at the time, while CCTV footage shows two men looking at the body on the street before walking away.

Mr Mussari has called the allegations 'madness' and 'defamatory' and said he would take legal action to clear his name. 

Mr Vinci said he hoped the accused men would address the commission and said it was crucial to find answers to put an end to the unsolved mystery.