On October 14, 2008, there was news of a possible assassination attempt on Saviano. A police inspector of the Anti-Mafia Investigation Department (DIA) of Milan informed the DDA that the pentito, Carmine Schiavone (cousin of boss Francesco Schiavone, aka Sandokan), had informed him of a plan, already in operation, to kill the writer and his bodyguards before Christmas through a spectacular attack on the highway between Rome and Naples, in the style of Capaci. Yet, when interrogated by magistrates, Carmine Schiavone denied knowing about a plan hatched by the Casalesi to kill Saviano, provoking the writer's immediate response: "It's obvious that he'd say this; if he were to talk the plan, it would mean implicitly admitting to still having connections with organized crime". In the end, the district attorney heading the investigation requested and obtained dismissal of the case after the news was revealed to be unfounded. Schiavone denied knowing anything about the attack but confirmed that Saviano was condemned to death by the Casalese clan.