The third government of Robert Fico, in the period covered in this passage of the History of Corruption, came to a crossroads that it dragged the whole country to. Twelve years of mutations of Fico’s governments have already meant the party’s definitive monopoly in the structures of state administration. Hundreds of smaller or larger cases and dozens of multi-billion embezzlements of the Fico governments were played into the hands of the party, blunting the interest and efforts of a large part of the public to control the activities of public officials.
It has allowed an unprecedentedly brutal penetration of business interests, lobbyists and the mafia right into the highest levels of politics. To the Czech reader, the claim about the mafia at the highest levels of politics may seem exaggerated or abbreviated. In the Slovak case, however, it is unfortunately a factual description of the state to which Fico has brought the country.
A clan of the Italian mafia called the ‘Ndrangheta has gone straight into government. This was the Roda clan, and specifically the Vadalà family, whose members have been tried and sentenced in Italy for many years for serious crimes including murder and smuggling multi-ton shipments of cocaine.
Prime Minister Robert Fico himself was in personal contact with Antonín Vadala at the time he was being investigated in Italy in connection with organised crime. “I know them all.” These words were to be spoken by Italian businessman Antonin Vadala in the presence of undercover police officers in connection with the planning of a drug smuggling route from South America via Slovakia.
According to police wiretaps, Vadalà boasted of his contacts with Slovak police and customs. MPs from Fico’s Směr-SD party were repeatedly present at Vadalà’s parties. Viliam Jasan, secretary of the security council with top secret clearance, was also in close contact with the Italian.
The man with whom the Prime Minister consulted on key security issues was a member of the PRODEST company, where Antonino Vadalà was also registered. The Italian mafioso was therefore doing business with a man who, as one of the highest-ranking security personnel in the state, had access to any security area.
The case of Robert Fico’s right-hand man and state counsellor is embarrassing and very characteristic. Mária Trošková has worked as an assistant to Prime Minister Robert Fico since 2014. Since 1 March 2015, she has been an employee of the Prime Minister’s Office in temporary civil service. In 2015, she was appointed Chief State Counsellor. This position does not officially exist and was invented for Trošková.
The Office of the Government refused to disclose her qualifications, previous work experience, salary, or the exact duties of her job. She was known only from tabloids and nude photos for men’s magazines. The tabloids caught her in intimate situations with Fico several times. The ex-premier repeatedly took his alleged mistress on official state visits, even with representatives of the highest levels of foreign delegations, about which foreign diplomats repeatedly complained.
Trošková was a member of the statutory body in several companies of Antonin Vadala. Before her relationship with Fico, according to testimony, she was Vadala’s romantic partner and they allegedly lived together for some time. How it is possible that she became the prime minister’s right-hand woman has never been explained.
In addition, a recording of a telephone conversation between Vadala and Fico also surfaced in the Italian trial. Robert Fico reacted aggressively to the media coverage, but did not explain anything.
The story of the Bödör family is further evidence of how organised crime has infiltrated state structures. As the History of Corruption has described elsewhere (6.6, subsection Bonul), this is a family on the borderline between oligarchy and organised crime. Through friendship and family connections, but also through business common interests, they were able to control not only state security contracts but also the security forces. From later testimonies in related cases, it is known that the Bödörs themselves chose the leadership of the Criminal Office of the Tax Administration, regional police directorates and customs officers. All of them were to be paid generously on top of their tabular salaries. In addition, they occupied the entire regional department of the specialised National Criminal Agency (one of the four regional departments).
