The Mafia 'altered' the hematocrit of Marco Pantani
The prosecutors considered that the departure by doping of Pantani of the Giro'99 was linked to the clandestine bets and to the sport fraud managed by the Camorra
The prosecutor of Forlí, who investigates what happened in February 1999, when cyclist Marco Pantani was disqualified from the Giro d'Italia for having a 51.9% hematocrit, revealed Monday that "a mafia clan convinced a doctor to alter the Test " , according to the 'Gazzetta dello Sport'. On June 5, 1999, Marco Pantani, then Mercatone Uno, was expelled from the Giro d'Italia after having given 52 percent blood hematocrits, over 50 percent allowed.The mythical 'Pirate', who had won four stages in that edition of the Giro and was a leading leader with five minutes and 38 seconds over the second classified, was declared "unfit" after a blood test of the International Cyclist Union, Which controlled runners of nine teams, of which only Pantani tested positive.
The races were "by surprise" at the Touring hotel in Madonna di Campiglio , where the riders were, and on the eve of a penultimate stage, the queen of that edition, with the ascents to Gavia, Mortirolo and arrival at Aprica.The later against analysis confirmed the positive, with which Pantani was suspended of its activity like cyclist. It was, for some specialists, and even his mother, Tonina, the beginning of the decline of a Pantani who, on 14 February 2004, was found dead at the Hotel Le Rose in Rimini, eastern Italy . However, in October 2014, the Forlí prosecutor's office proceeded to reopen the investigation into the Pantani positive case in 1999, suspecting that his expulsion from the Giro d'Italia might have been the result of a mob-managed sports fraud scheme.
The clandestine betsProsecutors considered that Pantani's departure from the Giro'99 was linked to clandestine bets and sports fraud run by the Camorra (Neapolitan mafia), who did not want "il elefantino" to win the Milan goal (end of the last stage).The key of these suspicions were in the mafia Rento Vallanzasca, condemned to four perpetual chains and that, at that time, shared cell with a significant mafia exponent of unknown identity.As Vallanzasca recalls in his autobiography, published that same year, his cellmate advised him to invest all his savings in the rivals of Pantani because he was sure that "he would not finish the championship".
On June 5, 1999, on the day of the disqualification at Madonna di Campiglio, the anonymous companion approached Vallanzasca and said "Have you heard of it? They have been stripped (Pantone mote), they have disqualified him."For this anecdote collected in its memories, Vallanzasca was called to declare by the prosecutor of Trento Bruno Giardina, but the convict did not collaborate with the justice for fear of reprisals and "vendettas" . Now prosecutor Sergio Sottani, who is conducting the investigations after rebuilding the events of the morning of June 5, 1999, and calling to declare dozens of people and perform some interceptions, considers that some Italian mafia clans had bet large amounts of Money against Pantani, according to published this Monday 'La Gazzetta dello Sport'.And, to avoid losses in case of a second victory followed by Pantani in the Giro, they put in place a plan to alter the sanguine controls . "A 'camorrístico' clan threatened a doctor to force him to alter the test in a way that Pantani did not allow," writes prosecutor Sottani, according to the Italian newspaper. However, since the events happened 17 years ago, and the alleged crimes have already been prescribed, the Prosecutor's Office of Forlí can only proceed to "file" the issue.
For Ever My Idol Long Life " Pantani"