“The minister is under blackmail. I knew he was paying the ministry” –

Maria Rosaria Boccia speaks to La Stampa. In the interview with Federico Monga, the entrepreneur tells her truth about her relationship with Gennaro Sangiuliano, Minister of Culture, who ended up at the center of controversy for the woman’s alleged role as a consultant, something she has always denied. “Sangiuliano and I met on August 5, as the photos published on my social profiles can testify, at the presentation of the candidacy of Italian cuisine as a UNESCO heritage site. I accompanied him as an advisor for major events. Initially it was a proposal so I followed the minister to learn about the reality of the ministry and then from the beginning of July the process to become an advisor was initiated. I have been an entrepreneur for twenty years”, Boccia’s version.

Who then in his speech to the Piedmontese newspaper focuses on the trips: “I always knew that the ministry paid as the emails I received from the head of the secretariat can underline and highlight. The minister divulged incorrect information. We made an inspection for the G7 and the minister took advantage of it to check some excavations. Blue cars? I was always with the minister, not on short trips but always on long trips”. Then a sentence that is a shock: “There are some people who – says Boccia – blackmail the minister for some benefits they have had”.