Mária Trošková and Robert Fico (source: SITA)
When Mária Trošková served as the assistant of former Smer MP Viliam Jasaň and later as the right hand of the former prime minister Robert Fico (Smer), the Italian police intercepted hundreds of phone calls between her and Antonino Vadala.
The Italian investigators added that Vadala told a police officer working under cover that he was in touch with Slovakia's high-ranking officials.
Italian investigative journalist Maria Grazia Mazzola reported this on the Saturday news service of the public-service RAI, citing the results of the investigation by the Venice prosecutor's office. Venice Prosecutor Bruno Cherchi confirmed the information on the record.
The Italians have been following Vadala in Slovakia from 2014 to 2018. Vadala ran business in Slovakia for years. The murdered journalist Jan Kuciak wrote his last, unfinished article about him. After it was published, the Slovak police detained Vadala, and he has since been extradited and prosecuted in Italy for drug-related crimes.
