Ignazio Marino was acquitted. The charges against him were embezzlement and forgery for the use of the credit card of the Capitoline administration and complicity in fraud for the fees destined for fictitious collaborators when the former mayor of Rome was the legal representative of "Imagine", a non-profit organization founded in 2005 to bring medical aid to Honduras and Congo.
The sentence was issued after a deliberation session that lasted just 15 minutes. According to the investigating judge Pierluigi Balestrieri, the story of the non-profit organization "does not constitute a crime", while embezzlement "does not exist". The Rome prosecutor's office had asked for a three-year sentence.
“I'm happy, I was waiting for this outcome because I knew I was innocent – Marino commented – I thank the justice, in the face of defamatory accusations and very heavy media and political behavior, the truth has finally been re-established. First of all, I would like to thank my lawyers, who fought with passion, dedication and professionalism. As for my political future, which many of you are asking me about, I have to say that this is not the time to make decisions but it is instead a time to reflect on what has been and what is to come".
