Born in Maglie, Apulia, Fitto began his political career during the 1990s in Christian Democracy (DC), the ruling party of post-war Italy.

In 1999, he was elected to the European Parliament on the electoral list of Forza Italia (FI), of which he was a member from 2001 to 2009, when he joined The People of Freedom (PdL), the new party of Silvio Berlusconi.

According to the prosecution, this amount was suspected of being a bribe to secure for the Apulia region the management of eleven nursing homes.

A request to arrest Fitto, who in the meantime had become a member of the Italian Parliament, was rejected by the Chamber of Deputies.

In December 2009, he was found guilty of abuse of office, corruption, and illegal financing of political parties; Fitto was acquitted of some other charges in June 2012.