ROME - The former Secretary of the Council of Ministers, Antonio Catricalà, was on Wednesday found dead in his apartment, suspected of suicide. He was found on his balcony, killed by the bullet from a pistol, according to police sources.

  Rome prosecutors, led by Giovanni Bertolini, have launched an investigation into his death.

  Catricalà, 69, was a lawyer, magistrate, political and public official who held roles including President of the Airports of Rome, President of the Italian Competition Authority, as well as various ministerial roles in government, including undersecretary to Prime Minister Mario Monti.

  In November 2010 he was elected as President of the Authority for Electricity and Gas, but stepped down a few days later.

  He was born in Catanzaro and graduated with a degree in jurisprudence in Rome, under the guidance of Pietro Rescigno. 

  Only last week he was nominated a President of the Institute of Great Infrastructure, a research centre concerned with the construction of large public works.

  Renato Brunetta, minister for public administration, wrote on Facebook, “A great friend, a great servant of the State, Antonio Catricalà leaves an immense hole in the live of all those who knew him and had the honour and privilege of working with him. It is an enormous sadness.”

ol