The awaited sentence relating to the trial for the Viareggio massacre has arrived. Mauro Moretti, former CEO of the State Railways today CEO of Leonardo-Finmeccanica, was sentenced in the first instance to 7 years. The judges instead decided to impose a sentence of 7 years and 7 months on Michele Elia, at the time CEO of Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, and Vincenzo Soprano, former number one of Trenitalia and Fs Logistica, the RFI manager Giulio Margarita is was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months. The four were accused along with 29 other people. The prosecution had asked for 16 years for Moretti and 15 for Elia.
The ruling refers to what happened on the night of 29 June 2009 in Viareggio, when a freight train carrying 14 tanks, each of which was loaded with 40 liters of LPG, liquefied petroleum gas, derailed just outside the Viareggio station and it is partly overturned on the tracks causing a real massacre that cost the lives of 32 people. The panel of judges is chaired by Gerardo Boragine and made up of Nidia Genovese and Valeria Marino.
The judges dropped some charges against the managers of state-owned subsidiaries because "the fact does not exist". Moretti, according to what his lawyers explained, was acquitted as managing director of Ferrovie, but convicted as former managing director of Rfi. For all 33 defendants the charges ranged, for various reasons, from train crash, multiple manslaughter, manslaughter and culpable injuries. Among the 9 accused companies, Ferrovie dello Stato and Fs Logistica were also acquitted, while Rfi and Trenitalia were convicted.
