Читать книгу Ján Kuciak - Christoph Lehermayr - Страница 7

And so now, finally, on this bitterly cold day in February 2018, the grand finale, the scoop, the big story that Ján Kuciak has been working on for so long. His story is to deal with the entanglements between Slovak politicians, entrepreneurs and the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta – the most powerful Mafia organisation in Europe. The matter is delicate, which is why only a small circle is in on Kuciak’s investigations. In the afternoon, he sends an encrypted message to a colleague in the Czech Republic with whom he’s been working on the story. He’s found another link between the Italians and a member of the governing social democratic party, Smer. When the editor-in-chief reads the rough draft, he’s stunned. Never before has a journalist succeeded in describing the workings of the Italian Mafia in Slovakia nearly as accurately.

In his article Kuciak suggests that the ‘Ndrangheta is laundering money from its global cocaine trade in the east of the country. There, almost 500 kilometres from Bratislava at the other end of the republic, the manners and customs are rougher than in the capital and the wages half as high. Kuciak has identified a certain Antonino Vadalà as the head of the clan. Vadalà came to Slovakia years ago after a job in Rome, in which he was to “punish” another man, didn’t go quite according to plan. The article exposes Vadalà’s whole story, names are revealed, places identified. Kuciak assumes that the drug money is used to buy large areas of farmland. In this way, the Italians, who’ve long been considered major landowners in the region, are not only able to legalise their dirty money, but also siphon off EU funding through the agricultural land they’ve acquired. At this point it’s clear to Kuciak that this kind of fraud can’t function without the cover and possible participation of the highest levels of government. Which is why the investigation culminates in a revelation: the longtime lover and former business partner of the Mafioso Vadalà is now the closest assistant of the head of the Slovak government. The beautiful Mária Trošková comes to play a fundamental role in Kuciak’s report. The former Miss Universe contestant, who has also posed for nude photos on occasion, is the personified link between the Mafia and those in power. It’s no coincidence that the social democrat prime minister Robert Fico has done his utmost to avoid commenting on her role at his side. Only much later will it emerge that she called her ex-lover, the Mafia boss, around 300 times from the government palace, and that Fico himself also spoke with him on the phone. “We’ve got him! This can trigger an earthquake, it can topple the government and trigger an early election!” says investigative head Marek Vagovič on this Wednesday, visibly proud of Kuciak’s research. Together with the editor-in-chief they discuss what still needs to be done before the story can go online. When Kuciak says goodbye in the evening, it’s the last time Vagovič will ever see him. Ten days later he’ll stand in front of Kuciak’s coffin.

Ján Kuciak sprints down the stairs and pushes open the door. A biting, snowy wind hits him. The next day, Thursday, he wants to work from home, adding the finishing touches to his story and preparing himself for his confrontation with the Italians. This he’s planned for the following Monday. Together with a photographer, he wants to make the journey east and call on the men of the ‘Ndrangheta on their farmlands – from where they pull the strings, and threaten anyone who gets in their way.