Former Italian railways (Ferrovie
dello Stato, FS) chief Mauro Moretti and former head of rail
network company RFI Michele Mario Elia were convicted and
sentenced to seven and six years respectively on appeal on
Thursday for the June 29, 2009 rail disaster at Viareggio in
which 32 people died.
Former Trenitalia rail group CEO Vincenzo Soprano got six
years too.
But ex-RFI technical director Giulio Margarita, who got six
and a half years at the first-instance trial in December 2017,
was acquitted.
The sentences are subject to a second appeal, the the supreme
Court of Cassation.
Prosecutors had requested 16 years for Moretti, now CEO of
defence and aerospace giant Leonardo, and 15 for Elia for their
alleged role in the tragedy, when a freight train derailed and
the gas it was carrying exploded into a fireball engulfing the
station and nearby areas of the coastal Tuscan town.
In total 33 individuals and nine companies were tried on
various charges including rail disaster, multiple manslaughter,
culpable fire and culpable injuries.
Moretti was convicted in his capacity as former RFI CEO but
acquitted as former FS CEO, his lawyers explained.
Overall, the court made 10 acquittals in the trial.
FS and FS Logistica were among the companies acquitted.
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