Twist in the investigation into the collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genoa. For John Castellucci, former CEO of Autostrade until January 2019, when he was liquidated with an amount close to 13 million euros and replaced by Roberto Tomasi, house arrest was triggered. The soldiers of the Guardia di Finanza notified the precautionary measure to the manager at dawn: the prison order was signed by the Court of the Ligurian capital, at the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office which apparently disputes the former Aspi number one and to five other top managers the crimes of attacking transport security and fraud in public supplies.
Basically, according to the investigators, Castellucci, first of the suspects for the collapse and the massacre of 43 people which took place on 14 August 2018, two years later he would have maintained very close and even "professional" relationships with the current managers of the concessionaire, slowing down the operations to replace the sound-absorbing barriers considered to be at risk of detachment on the entire Italian motorway network. The other five managers involved are: Michele Donferri Mitelli – former director of Maintenance – and Paolo Berti, head of Operations until last year, both under house arrest. Interdictions have been ordered for three other executives: Stefano Marigliani, former director of the First Section of Genoa transferred to Milan to another position; Paolo Strazzullo, head of Planned Renovations, and Massimo Miliani.
Leading the investigators towards the precautionary measures for Catellucci and the other Aspi leaders was an in-depth study of the investigation into the Morandi Bridge relating to the anti-noise barriers. The line of inquiry would have highlighted "the will not to carry out adequate replacement and safety works, circumventing this obligation with some unsuitable and non-resolution temporary arrangements. This is why the fraud against the state was triggered. For the magistrates, the former CEO and the other managers involved "knew of the defects of some barriers and their dangers". The repercussions of Castellucci's arrest on the stock exchange were immediate, where Atlantia's stock sinks, losing almost 5% by mid-morning, below 15 euros per share. Still no reaction from the political world, while indignation on social media rises.
