The former mayor of the Calabrian
town of Riace, Mimmo Lucano, who earned fame for integrating
migrants and repopulating the location according to the 'Riace
Model', got a suspended sentence of one and a half years on
appeal Wednesday as judges slashed his original term of over 13
years for irregularities involving immigrants.
Domenico 'Mimmo' Lucano, 65, settled 450 refugees in Riace, a
town of 1,800 inhabitants, revitalising it and preventing the
closure of the local school.
He came second in the 2010 World Mayor Competition and was named
40th in a Fortune poll of the world's greatest leaders in 2016.
Lucano had initially been charged with arranging marriages for
citizenship but that charge was struck down by the supreme
Cassation Court.
However, he was convicted by a first instance court of other
charges of abuse of office and irregularities in managing
migrants and asylum seekers.
He was found guilty of criminal association, fraud,
embezzlement, false statements and abuse of office.
The appeals court struck down nearly all those charges.
The former migrant-integration hero and mayor of the Calabrian
experiment town had consistently claimed innocence.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
