who is antonio tosscanno

who is antonio toscanno,more to the point why was he ignored by the police :( i am looking for further information on this man and will post it under this topic,if any one else can help please post information on here
many thanks
sian

Police cautious over new Madeleine claims

Matthew Weaver and agencies
Thursday June 28, 2007

guardian.co.uk

A Spanish journalist who claimed that the disappearance of four-year-old Madeleine McCann was linked to a international paedophile ring has been questioned by police.
A spokesman for Portuguese police said Antonio Toscano, 36, was interviewed by police for two hours yesterday but added that they were "cautious" about treating the information as a new lead.

Mr Toscano had told the media he believed a man known as The Frenchman, who he said was involved in a Europe-wide paedophile network, was linked to Madeleine's disappearance.

He claimed The Frenchman was overheard saying he was travelling to the Algarve before Madeleine went missing from her room in the resort of Praia da Luz on May 3 while her parents, Gerry and Kate, were eating in a restaurant 100 yards away.

Police confirmed Mr Toscano originally contacted them several weeks ago but gave few details. He has described himself as an "investigator" who specialises in missing person cases.

A spokeswoman for the McCann family would not comment on Mr Toscano's claims but said Madeleine's parents were urging anyone with information to come forward.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,330106951-103690,00.html

the alleged “investigative journalist” who claimed to know the name of Madeleine’s abductor is an hoaxer who introduced himself as an expert in satanic cults in several interviews with Spanish newspapers an TV.

António Toscano was quoted, last week, by the Spanish daily “El Mundo”, saying that he his an “expert in missing children cases”. And yesterday, talking to a Portuguese newspaper, he claimed that his track record his so good that he “found 14 of the 15 missing children cases that he investigated”, during the last years.

Many Portuguese and British newspapers quoted the story published by “El Mundo”, but some of them wrote that Mr. António Toscano was a journalist working with the Spanish daily or a collaborator of that daily.

“Gazeta Digital” talked with Mr. Rafael Moiano, a journalist from “El Mundo” and he confirmed that Mr. Toscano was interviewed and the story was published last week, but denied any link between Mr Toscano and the newspaper: “Mr. Toscano is not a collaborator of ‘El Mundo’, we just published a story, last week, about its investigations.”

Any other journalists of questionable quality in Portugal?

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Police follow new lead in Madeleine case
Thu Jun 28, 2007 1:06pm BST Email | Print | Share| Single Page| Recommend (0) [-] Text
http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKL2884429720070628

1 of 1Full SizeLISBON (Reuters) - Portuguese police have opened a new line of investigation in their search for missing 4-year-old Madeleine McCann based on the evidence of a Spanish journalist who has investigated paedophile rings.

"This lead is being taken seriously," police chief inspector Olegario de Sousa said. "We are going to follow this lead."

Spanish journalist Antonio Toscano has been interviewed by Portuguese police in their investigation to find Madeleine, who disappeared from her bed at a resort in Portugal's Algarve on May 3 while her parents were dining at a nearby restaurant.

De Sousa declined to give any details, but Portuguese daily 24 horas said Toscano had told police that a French man kidnapped Madeleine with the intention of selling her to a paedophile ring.

Police have identified just one suspect in the case so far and have made no arrests.

They have received countless tip-offs after wealthy individuals, including author J.K. Rowling, offered large rewards for any information on Madeleine's whereabouts. But none of them have led to concrete leads.

McCanns told caller ‘knows whereabouts of Madeleine’WILLIAM TINNING
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.1456769.0.0.php?act=login

Police hunting for Madeleine McCann have told her parents they received a credible call from a man claiming to know the whereabouts of the four-year-old.

The caller provided such detail that Kate and Gerry McCann put their European search for their daughter on hold in case they needed to act.

The couple were informed of the potential development while in Germany, where they were appealing for information about their eldest child's disappearance.

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They hoped that the call was the breakthrough they have been praying for in the five weeks since their daughter disappeared from the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve.

The "credible" call was taken from a man who wanted to speak directly to the McCanns, according to a Spanish police source.

It is believed to have been made to police in Spain and was traced to an unregistered pay-as-you-go phone, which appeared to be from a country outside of Europe. The nationality of the caller was not clear.

The couple were preparing to go to Tempelhof Airport in Berlin about 3pm on Wednesday to fly to the Netherlands, but stayed on at the British embassy after being advised that the caller might try to contact them.

At 6pm, journalists travelling in the eight-seater private jet with the McCanns were told there might be a change in destination. The flight crew revealed they had been asked to draw up a new flight plan involving a possible change from Amsterdam to East Midlands Airport.

It was thought that the McCanns might need to go back to the UK to talk to advisers about the call. But all efforts to re-establish contact with the man failed and the couple left Berlin for Amsterdam at 7.30pm.

The McCanns are thought to be on standby, ready to return to the UK if necessary.

A Spanish police source said: "A man called saying he knew where Madeleine was and wanted to speak to the McCanns.

"This did not appear to be a crank call and the information was felt credible enough to warrant the couple being informed immediately."

The McCanns have always said that it might only take one phone call to get Madeleine back.

The possible new lead came as they came to the end of the European section of their search for Madeleine. They have been to Italy, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands in a bid to raise awareness about her abduction. They plan to go to Morocco at the weekend.

The Netherlands was chosen because, after British and German tourists, the largest group of nationals who make up the tourists in the Algarve are Dutch.

Elsewhere yesterday, it was claimed that a Spanish investigative journalist knows who snatched Madeleine.

Antonio Toscano, who specialises in missing persons stories, was quoted by the Madrid daily newspaper El Mundo yesterday saying the abductor is a member of an international paedophile ring which specialises in snatching children.

Mr Toscano said the man was seen in Seville - about two hours' drive from the Spanish frontier with the Portuguese Algarve - about a week before Madeleine disappeared.

El Mundo reported Mr Toscano as saying the kidnapper was working for money with two other people and had served a prison sentence outside Spain for a paedophile offence. Mr Toscano said that he could be working for a European wide international paedophile network.

"Little Maddie was no coincidence and was selected long before her disappearance, probably in Great Britain," Toscano said.

He told the paper he approached a representative employed by the McCanns after learning of the man's possible involvement but was advised to contact Portuguese police. The paper said he contacted the family representative on two other occasions without response.

El Mundo added that Portuguese police have now asked their Spanish colleagues to question Mr Toscano.

Madeleine — Italian suspect held
Published:Jun 29, 2007

http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=504469
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HOPE: Spanish journalist Antonio Toscano speaks to journalists in Portugal this week Picture: EPA



An Italian suspect has been arrested in Spain in connection with the disappearance of British four-year-old Madeleine McCann, reports said last night.




SKY News quoted the Spanish newspaper El Pais as saying that the suspect had been arrested.

No further details were immediately available.

Earlier yesterday, it was reported that Portuguese police had opened a new line of investigation in their search for the child.

Their probe was based on the evidence of a Spanish journalist who has investigated paedophile rings.

Spanish journalist Antonio Toscano has been interviewed by Portuguese police in their investigation to find Madeleine, who disappeared from her bed at a resort in Portugal’s Algarve on May 3 while her parents were dining at a nearby restaurant.

Police chief inspector Olegario de Sousa said: “This lead is being taken seriously. We are going to follow this lead.”

De Sousa declined to give any details, but a newspaper report said Toscano had told police that a French man kidnapped Madeleine with the intention of selling her to an international paedophile syndicate. — Reuters