There was no time to escape. On 7 July 2017, death surprised the inhabitants of the building at number 15 of Rampa Nunziante in Torre Annunziata (in the province of Naples) in their sleep, burying their lives under a mountain of dust and rubble. The rubble of a four-storey building which, according to a sentence today, crumbled like a sand castle due to some renovations carried out in a house on the second floor and carried out, in the words of the prosecutor Andreana Ambrosino, “In defiance of the rules of diligence and expertise”.
The sentence
Ten people were sentenced for that tragedy that cost the lives of Giacomo Cuccurullo, his wife Adele Laiola, and their son Marco; to Giuseppina Aprea; to Pasquale Guida, his wife Anna Duraccio and their children Francesca and Salvatore, 11 and 8 years old respectively. The most severe penalties were imposed by the single judge Francesco Todisco of the Court of Torre Annunziata to those who were held responsible for the crimes of collapse and manslaughter: 12 years were ordered for the architect Massimiliano Bonzani, indicated by the prosecutor as the director of de facto works of the apartment in which the collapse was triggered; 11 years and 2 months for the architect Aniello Manzo, officially the construction manager; 12 years 6 months for the promissory buyer of the apartment affected by the works, Gerardo Velotto; 9 years and months for Pasquale Cosenza, the “master” worker who, according to the Oplontine prosecutor’s office, physically carried out the works. The accusations of collapse and manslaughter were also contested against two well-known criminal lawyers, but the judge deemed it to order an acquittal contrary to the request of the prosecutor: the two lawyers, Roberto Cuomo and Massimiliano Lafranco, were however sentenced to one year and two months’ imprisonment (suspended sentence) each for the crime of forgery. Cuomo, in particular, was the administrator of the condominium while Lafranco was still the de facto owner of the apartment where the works were carried out. Sentence also suspended for Rosanna Vitiello (one year), Ilaria Bonifacio (one year), Marco Chiocchetti (one year and a fine of six thousand euros) and Mario Cirillo (one year and a fine of six thousand euros). Instead, Roberta Amodio, Rita Buongiovanni, Giuseppe Buongiovanni, Donatella Buongiovanni, Emilio Cirillo and Luisa Scarfato were acquitted. Against Emilio Cirillo and Scafarto also the prosecutor had proposed the acquittal considering them extraneous to the dynamics of the building. The reasons for the sentence will be filed within 90 days.