"(About the veracity of the two meetings between Giulio Andreotti and Stefano Bontate) The latest denialist performance, rather than talking about innocence in general, focuses on a specific fact: two meetings between the defendant Andreotti and Stefano Bontate (head of the Cosa Nostra mafia) mentioned by Pif in the television series La mafia uccide solo d'estate (The Mafia Only Kills Only in Summer), broadcast every Thursday on Rai1. In Il Foglio on May 12, Maurizio Crippa argues—in summary—that Pif “tramples on the facts” because “it is written in the judgments” and “sealed in the Cassation ruling” that the accusatory statements relating to the two alleged meetings were not "supported by adequate evidence (...) In short, there were no (...) and the Andreotti who met Bontate never existed.“ Too bad for Crippa that the Court of Cassation has ”sealed" a very different truth. On page 169, the Court of Cassation confirms what the Court of Appeal had already established, concluding that Andreotti "had met with the mafiosi; he had interacted with them; he had instructed them on how to behave in relation to the highly sensitive Mattarella issue, even if he ultimately failed to get them to follow his instructions; he had gained their trust to such an extent that they discussed even very serious matters (such as the assassination of President Mattarella) in the confident knowledge that they would not be reported; he had failed to report their responsibilities, particularly in relation to the Mattarella murder, even though he could have provided very useful information in this regard." All this is stated after mentioning on page 156 that there had been two meetings between Andreotti and Bontate “concerning the problem represented by Piersanti Mattarella,” the second of which took place in the spring of 1980 (the date until which the crime attributed to the defendant was recognized as having been committed). At this point, it is difficult to understand how one can deny that the two meetings between Andreotti and Bontate took place, and instead accuse those who mention them of being “slanderers and defamers.” The fact is that the two meetings with Bontate took on considerable probative significance for Andreotti's criminal liability, which was recognized until 1980 by the Court of Appeal and definitively “sealed” by the Court of Cassation. Therefore, denying these meetings is a bit like reiterating without any basis – once again – that Andreotti would have been acquitted."