«I’m 71 years old, I can’t do two things in one. If it were as they say I would be happy, but it isn’t.” With a fair amount of self-irony the municipal councilor of Taranto Michele Patano (Italia Viva), crushed for 48 hours in a red light gossip, categorically states that it would be untenable for him, at the same time, to participate in a council commission session, even remotely, and be engaged in a sex session. He denies that the moans and sighs heard, assuming they are these sounds, during the meeting of the Productive Activities commission came from him and his hypothetical partner, he finds the resignation requests immediately invoked by other councilors absurd and, in the meantime, he and his lawyers are preparing three complaints against those who have publicly mentioned his name and who arbitrarily stuck a photo of himself on the piece that told the story. «I learned that I was involved in this story from the newspapers – he argues – only a twisted mind can think these things in the absence of certain elements. I have to protect my image, I follow the work of the commission from my office in the headquarters of my association via iPhone, as I always do and as many others do. So there couldn’t be any light on the microphone in the commission nor could they turn it off. My collaborators were with me and I was talking to a lady. I asked my colleagues present in the commission headquarters and no one told me they had heard what they attribute to me, someone said that something indecipherable was coming. The only certain thing, and I’m sorry, also confirmed by the secretary of the commission, is that at a certain point I said a bad word.”
Patano also denies a precedent of the same type that is attributed to him, not only audio but also video fragments. «It was also false that time – he explains – I followed the work from home and at a certain point my wife passed behind the camera while she was getting dressed, but she wasn’t in déshabillé». In short, according to the councilor it is gossip that has taken the wrong path. «Whoever created this case took on a huge responsibility and I will have to understand who mentioned my name – he points out – to support my truth, I tell you that during the commission we were discussing a visit to the port and I was asking for a means of transport for us all to go together, I saved the screenshot of this exchange of messages with the president of the commission. There is nothing tangible here that proves what they say, it is also possible that it is a political maneuver.”
