From our correspondent
breaking latest news Rigopiano, the day of truth: all acquitted because «the fact does not exist». And only very light sentences, such as two years for the former mayor of Farindola (breaking latest news), Ilario Lacchetta for failure to clean the road (and two officials of the Province). Here is the sentence of the trial with abbreviated rite on the tragedy of the hotel overwhelmed six years ago, on January 18, 2017, by an avalanche that caused 29 deaths. In the courtroom the tears of relatives. And he yelled at her: “Shame on you.”
In all had been asked for 150 years sentence for the 26 defendants — among politicians, officials, prefectural managers and hotel managers —: from 12 years to the former Prefect Provolo, to eleven years and 4 months for the mayor of Farindola Lacchetta and his municipal technician Colangeli, to 10 years for the managers of the Province of breaking latest news D’Incecco and Di Blasio, and the other penalties to follow. The alleged crimes were: from culpable disaster, multiple manslaughter, multiple culpable injuries, forgery and also misdirection and building abuse. At 12.30 the investigating judge of breaking latest news Gianluca Sarandrea had retired to the council chamber. In the courtroom, relatives had placed photos of all the victims.
The Prosecutor Giuseppe Bellelli in his summation had hoped for “a sentence that in the name of the Constitution and the Italian people affirms the model of Public Administrator who had the duty to foresee the worst and avoid tragedy”. Almost all the defense attorneys, however, bet on the absolute unpredictability of the event. Their line has crossed.
The investigation into the disaster was concluded in November 2018and had initially concerned the short circuit that occurred between the various institutional levels responsible for managing the bad weather emergency, calling into question the Abruzzo Region, the Prefecture and Province of breaking latest news, the Municipality of Farindola; then it was also extended to the Region’s failure to implement the Avalanche Prevention Charter and permits for the renovation of the resort, for a total of 40 suspects. At the end of December 2018 there is also an encore investigation into the misdirection, against the staff of the breaking latest news Prefecture, including the former prefect Francesco Provolo – for having concealed the draft of the January 18 reports to the breaking latest news Mobile – with seven others suspects. In December 2019, the regional leaders exited the process with 22 filings for former presidents of the Region and former regional councilors for Civil Protection. The heaviest sentence, 12 years, was requested for the former prefect Francesco Provolo; among the other requests for sentencing are the 11 years and 4 months requested for the mayor, in office, of Farindola (breaking latest news), Ilario Lacchetta, the seven years and eight months for the manager of the hotel Bruno Di Tommaso, the six years for the former president of the Province Antonio Di Marco. On the misdirection front in the Prefecture, 2 years and 8 months for Daniela Acquaviva and Giulia Pontrandolfo; two years for Giancarlo Verzella.
The process re-proposed the themes of prevention and compliance with environmental laws, after the sentences on the Viareggio massacre or the one on the work of the Major Risks Commission a few days after the earthquake that devastated L’Aquila: once again the work of man in the role of public official is at the center of the debate, who should guarantee safety for citizens, both in compliance with existing regulations and in the emergency phase of relief. In the background, and it is not a negligible fact, the slowness of the Italian justice system: beyond the suspension for Covid and the 15 postponements recorded, the 1,318 days between the first hearing, 16 July 2019, seem too manyand today, the day of the sentence, compared to the Italian average of 1,600 days for the three degrees of judgment in the criminal trial, also considering that it is an abbreviated procedure.