Florence anti-mafia prosecutors open murder probe into David Rossi's 2013 death

Case reopened after two suicide findings

Prosecutors from the Florence anti-mafia directorate (DDA) have opened a murder investigation into the death of David Rossi, the former communications head of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS). Rossi fell from the window of his office at Palazzo Salimbeni on 6 March 2013. Siena prosecutors had twice closed the matter as suicide. The file reached Florence after a complaint from Rossi's wife, Antonella Tognazzi, and their daughter, Carolina Orlandi, who had long pressed for further checks. According to judicial sources, the inquiry began in the months before this report.

Parliamentary commission and the wider probe

The parliamentary inquiry commission presented an interim report in March 2026 that ruled out suicide. Its documents have been added to the Florence file, and several witnesses have reportedly been heard by investigators, some of them already questioned by the commission. Investigators are examining injuries found on Rossi's body and possible ties to organised crime, including people said to be close to the Grande Aracri clan. Brescia prosecutors have also reportedly opened a file. One report says the Bologna DDA is part of the picture too, and that a coordination summit of the three offices was being considered under the national anti-mafia directorate led by Giovanni Melillo. The commission has disclosed the existence of redacted passages (omissis) in witness statements, and these are said to be central to the new material.

Sponsorship money under scrutiny

Investigators are also looking at the sponsorship system MPS ran. Reports put the bank's annual sponsorship budget at about 50 million euros, cut by roughly 10 million shortly before Rossi's death. Investigators want to establish where that money went and who benefited from the reductions. One report links the sponsorship flows to an account in Viadana, in the province of Mantua, allegedly held in the name of a nominee of the Grande Aracri clan. That link is not yet proven and is presented as a line of inquiry.

Allegations against Mussari and Ceccherelli

Commission chair Gianluca Vinci has named former MPS president Giuseppe Mussari and Florentine Gabriele Ceccherelli as the alleged instigator and organiser of an intimidation against Rossi, which he says later degenerated. According to Vinci's account, the initial aim was to push Rossi to accept certain conditions. Both men deny the accusations. The elements reported so far do not show either of them as under investigation. Ceccherelli, who had offered to be heard by the commission, has reportedly changed course, invoking the omissis to defend himself, according to his lawyer, Federico Bagattini. A businessman now held in Bologna is reported to have pointed to Mussari, but the article notes earlier cases that cast doubt on his credibility. A second source, a Brazilian citizen held for homicide, reportedly also accuses Ceccherelli.

What remains to be verified

Investigators must check the material gathered so far and establish whether it supports the murder hypothesis. The reports describe these claims as investigative hypotheses that still need to be verified. For now, the murder line rests on leads that investigators have yet to test.