Cecchi Gori detained
Tycoon under house arrest in soccer probe
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Police found him with actress Valeria Marini, his companion since his 1999 split from wife and business associate Rita Rusic, which left him entangled in a multimillion dollar divorce.
Financially crippled Cecchi Gori, 60, is being investigated on charges of fraudulent bankruptcy as part of a probe into the soccer club's financial collapse.
Italian news reports said police also searched the homes of other former Fiorentina club officials in Florence, Cecchi Gori's hometown where the soccer team was based until it was dismantled in September.
'A plot'
"This is a plot," the tycoon commented when police entered his Rome residence, reportedly after waiting for more than two hours outside.
Cecchi Gori's lawyer, Bruno Ricciotti, added, "This is an unjust decision; we have always been ready to cooperate with the police."
For many years Italy's leading producer, distributor and exhibitor, Cecchi Gori inherited the family film empire from his father, Mario. Cecchi Gori Group's recent successes include 1999's Oscar-winning hit "Life Is Beautiful."
Cecchi Gori had contracted with Roberto Benigni's Melampo production house for the domestic release of current blockbuster "Pinocchio." But the collapse of CGG's film unit led to a joint distribution pact with rival Medusa Film.
Several productions were adversely affected by the group's financial woes. Paolo Virzi's "My Name Is Tanino" and Sergio Rubini's "Soul Mate" premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September, but these and other films risk being stuck on the shelf, dogged by creditors, despite being part of Medusa's "Pinocchio" package.
"I'm extremely pessimistic about the release," commented Virzi. "I hope I'm wrong. But the troubles of Vittorio Cecchi Gori are such and so many that it seems impossible to free up my film, which is blocked by creditors."
Despite repeated interruptions to shooting and post-production of "Tanino" due to CGG's cash crisis, Virzi often came to the troubled producer's defense. However, the comradeship ended when Cecchi Gori took legal action against Virzi for switching production houses for his next feature.
The director now claims that Cecchi Gori has failed to pay benefit contributions to the national film workers union since 1999, and until this is rectified, the group's productions will not be classified for theatrical release.
Series of struggles
In addition to the dwindling fortunes of his once-dominant film division, Cecchi Gori has been hit by other setbacks.
In 2001, he was investigated in connection with a money-for-votes probe in Catania, Sicily, where he unsuccessfully sought re-election to the Italian Senate.
Other setbacks include selling his two TMC commercial TV webs in a deal with Telecom multimedia unit Seat, which yielded far less cash than hoped.
Cecchi Gori's ill-planned attempt to challenge the long-standing TV duopoly of pubcaster RAI and Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset is largely viewed as the cause of the group's financial downfall.
During its brief existence, CGG's TV division was a black hole that steadily drained the profits from the successful film unit.
