Death in Siena

The body of David Rossi, head of marketing and communications, was found yesterday evening beneath the window of his office at the  headquarters of the Monte dei Paschi in the centre of Siena.  The window of his office overlooked a little-used, difficult to access side street  beside the famous palazzo.

Shortly after half past eight yesterday evening his secretary entered his office and,  seeing the open window, looked out to see him lying on the ground  some thirty feet below.  In the office  his computer was turned on, his jacket on his chair.  All papers in his office have been sequestered by the investigating magistrate, including a crumpled note, discarded in the wastepaper basket, containing the words "Ho fatto una cavolata"  ["I have goofed-up"]. 

Mr Rossi, a Sienese, had been a close associate of the former President of the Bank, Giuseppe Mussari but was not, himself, under investigation.  He had worked with Mussari since the early 1990s and had come with him to the Bank from  working with the former mayor of Siena, Pier Luigi Picinni for whom, at that time, Mussari maintained relations between the administration of Siena and the then predominant political party the Democratic Socialists [successors of the recently defunct Communist Party of Italy and now dominant faction in the national Democratic Party led by Bersani.ed.]

Colleagues stated that Rossi was his usual urbane and efficient self in the last days.  The Italian media are referring to the death as suicide.