The deputy minister of the Northern League Edward Rixi was sentenced to three years and five months' imprisonment for fraudulent and false. The sentence exceeds that requested by the public prosecutor Pinto by a month. Following the first instance pronouncement of the Court of Genoa, arrived in the context of the trial on "crazy expenses" in the Liguria Region, Rixi has resigned from the government, but his lawyer announced the appeal.
The judges also inflicted the accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification from public office on the deputy minister, a provision which however is suspended if the person directly concerned presents an appeal. In addition, €56.807 was confiscated from Rixi.
“I'm calm – said Rixi – I have always acted for the good of the Italians. I count on the acquittal because I have never committed any crime, but for the love I feel for Italy and not to create problems for the government, I have already handed over my resignation to Matteo Salvini".
Salvini has accepted the resignation of Rixi from the Executive, but immediately afterwards announced that he had appointed him head of Infrastructure of the League.
The Tribunal sentenced 19 people in all, including Senator Francesco Bruzzone, also from the League and former president of the Ligurian regional council. For him the sentence is two years and 10 months.
The mayor of Alassio Melgrati was sentenced to two years, eleven months and 15 days and was suspended from office.
Matteo Rosso, a centre-right regional councillor, was sentenced to three years, two months and 15 days and he too was suspended in application of the Severino law.
According to the indictment, the regional councilors would have pocketed undue reimbursements by passing off dinners, trips, trips to the amusement park, scratch cards, oysters, flowers, beer and biscuits as institutional expenses. In some cases, receipts left by other patrons would also have been recycled.
