Calabria Governor
Giuseppe Scopelliti was sentenced to six years in prison and
permanently banned from public office late on Thursday.
Scopelliti was found guilty of abuse of office and
misinformation while serving as mayor of Reggio Calabria in
events related to the 2010 suicide of a former finance manager
for the city, Orsola Fallaro.
Fallaro was paid fees of 750,000 euros while working on
Reggio's tax commission.
The ruling is longer than the Prosecutor Sara Ombra's
request for five years imprisonment and a five-year ban from
office.
The case stems from an investigation into Reggio's
finances between 2008 to 2010.
The conviction will have political consequences as
Scopelliti will have to step down as governor, even though he
can appeal and the conviction is not definitive, because of 2012
anti-corruption law.
The court rejected Scopelliti lawyer Aldo Labate's request
to show new records that he argued would demonstrate balance-
sheet debts were attributable to before Scopelliti's tenure.
"Denying preconceived evidence limits the rights of the
defense", commented Scopelitti's legal advisor Senator Nico
D'Ascola, who added that there was "a vacuum of evidence that
the prosecutor failed to fill".
Scopelliti was also ordered to pay a 120,000-euro fine.
Former auditors Carmelo Stracuzi, Domenico D'Amico and
Ruggero De Medici received three-year sentences.
Upon hearing the sentence, Labate commented: "We are
obviously disappointed. We are waiting for the written
explanation of the verdict".
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