The sentences are coming on collapse of the Morandi Bridge. The former CEO of Aspi John Castellucci, main defendant in the trial, was sentenced in the first instance to twelve years for negligent collapse and vehicular homicide. The prosecutor had requested 18 years and 6 months. The manager, who before the sentencing had said he felt "responsible, but not guilty," was not present in court and was not connected from the prison where he is serving a final six-year sentence received last year for the Acqualonga viaduct accident (Avellino), which claimed the lives of 40 people who died on a bus that fell into the void.
The verdict comes eight years after the tragedy that August 14, 2018 cost the lives of 43 people, death due to the collapse of the motorway viaduct. This concludes a four-year trial against 57 defendants including former executives, managers, and technicians of Autostrade per l'Italia and Spea, the Aspi subsidiary that handled maintenance, and former directors and consultants of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.
The other convictions
The former heads of Aspi and Spea were also sentenced. The former number three of Aspi, Michele Donferri Mitelli He was sentenced to eleven years: the prosecutor had asked for 15 years and six months. He was sentenced to 5 years and six months for Paul Berti (former number two Aspi), 12 years and six months were requested and, finally, a sentence of five years and six months for Antonino Galatà (former CEO of Spea) for whom the prosecutor had requested 7 years.
The former director of supervision of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport Mauro Coletta He was sentenced to 5 years. The prosecutor had requested a 10-year sentence for him.
Overall they were 32 sentences for almost 200 yearsTwenty-five between acquitted and prescribed.
The trial and the charges
The trial began on July 7th of July 22nd. In these years, several investigations have been carried out 284 hearings, 282 witnesses heard and four experts. Twelve defendants were examined, while 21 spontaneously gave statements. Initially, over 200 civil parties (658 had requested to be admitted), 168 remained after some reached an agreement. The reasons for the convictions and acquittals will be filed within six months.
According to the deputy prosecutors Walter Cotugno and Marco Airoldi, those responsible for the collapse of the Morandi Bridge are, on the one hand, the former managers and technicians of Autostrade and Spea, who would have saved on safety and maintenance motorways to maximize profits and guarantee more dividends to the members, on the other the Ministry of Transport and the Supervision Office, which he would not have done the necessary checks on the structure.
The charges, to varying degrees, included multiple manslaughter, vehicular homicide, malicious collapse, failure to perform official duties, undermining transportation safety, forgery, and willful failure to provide workplace safety devices. For these charges, the prosecutor's office had requested nearly 400 years in prison and an acquittal.
The reactions
"Today's ruling marks an important step in the quest for truth and justice for the Morandi Bridge tragedy. No decision can restore the 43 lives lost or ease the pain of their families, to whom I once again extend my deepest sympathy. The collapse was not a fatality, but the result of serious errors and omissions on the part of those who had the duty to ensure safety. It is right that responsibility has finally been ascertained." This was stated in a statement by the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Edoardo Rixi. "However, there remains one consideration we cannot ignore," he continued, "we would have hoped for a quicker judicial process. Eight years to reach a first-instance verdict is a very long time, especially for those who have waited for justice while living daily with a pain that has never subsided. Now is the time to look forward," he concluded. "In memory of the victims, we have a duty to continue investing in the safety of our infrastructure, so that a tragedy like that of August 14, 2018, can never happen again."
"We are not lawyers and cannot comment. The 12-year sentence is acceptable but we need to understand everything else because there were so many defendants," commented Egle Possetti, president of the Committee in Remembrance of the Victims of the Morandi Bridge.
"We looked for the culprit but not the faultCastellucci was convicted without guilt. His only crime is that of being innocent,” said lawyer Giovanni Paolo, who is defending the former CEO of Aspi after the conviction. “We will continue to fight for his innocence,” he concluded, “and we are certain that the appeal will remedy to what we believe to be a mistake."
The mayor of Genoa also attended the reading of the sentence, Silvia Salis, who shook hands with all the victims' relatives seated in the courtroom.
