A court of first instance in
Milan on Thursday sentenced the former governor of Lombardy and
senator for the centrist NCD party, Roberto Formigoni, to six
years in prison for corruption in the health sector.
The senator, who was on trial with nine other defendants, was
cleared of criminal conspiracy charges. Formigoni was also
banned from holding public office for six years. He was ordered
to pay three million euros to the Lombardy region, where he
served as governor from 1995 until the end of 2012, when the
whole Lombardy government resigned after a wave of scandals.
The court, in addition, ordered the confiscation of 6.6
million euros, including 50% of a villa in Sardinia to be handed
back to Formigoni's close friend Alberto Perego, another
defendant in the trial who was acquitted on Thursday.
The ex-governor was found guilty of corruption linked to the
Pavia-based Maugeri health-care foundation specialized in
rehabilitation.
Trial prosecutors had asked for a nine-year prison sentence.
The Senator was accused of favoring the Maugeri foundation
when he was governor in exchange for luxury holidays abroad, the
exclusive use of three yachts, large sums of cash paid on a
regular basis, luxury dinners and the purchase of the Sardinian
villa.
The investigation kicked off in 2012.
Prosecutors say that the Maugeri foundation paid a reported
61 million euros from 1997 until 2011 to businessman Pierangelo
Daccò, a friend of Formigoni's, and former executive regional
councilor Antonio Simone for benefits to Formigoni.
State attorneys also said, in another part of the
investigation, that the San Raffaele hospital in Milan paid an
additional nine million between 2005 and 2006 to Daccò and
Simone to grant the governor benefits worth a total of eight
million euros.
The governor, in exchange, granted illicit healthcare
reimbursements worth 200 million euros for the Maugeri fund,
according to investigators.
Formigoni has consistently denied wrongdoing and says he paid
for holidays on a boat provided by Daccò.
Overall on Thursday five of the defendants were acquitted and
five, including Formigoni, were convicted.
Daccò was sentenced to nine years and two months in jail
Simone was sentenced to eight years and eight months.
The former administrative director of the Maugeri fund,
Costantino Passerino, was sentenced to seven years and
entrepreneur Carlo Farina to three years and four months.
In 2013, a Milan appeals court sentenced Dacco' to nine years
in prison for embezzling money through the San Raffaele hospital
in Milan.
According to the court, Dacco' helped create the so-called
"San Raffaele system", whereby entrepreneurs who worked under
contract for the hospital would intentionally overbill clients
and give the difference to Dacco' who used the money for slush
funds.
He was also found guilty of misappropriating assets and tax
fraud.
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