«The last card played by the majority to avoid the Municipality becoming a civil party in the criminal trial for the failure of Latina Ambiente is to expose the Mayor by placing the responsibility for this political choice on her». The opposition council groups say this in reference to the press note signed by Mayor Celentano, released yesterday, on the Latina Ambiente case and the request for legal advice on the opportunity for the organization to become a civil party in the ongoing proceedings. «A river of words to say that we are backing away from the constitution of a civil party and that, therefore, we will necessarily have to proceed with a resolution that annuls that of Commissioner Valente for the assignment of the task to the Municipal Attorney’s Office» highlight the Lbc councilors , M5S, Pd and Per Latina 2032.
For the opposition, the Mayor commits a series of gross errors: «First of all – they explain – she forgets that in 2022 the Cartabia law has provided that the establishment of a civil party can only be done in a preliminary hearing, compared to what otherwise happened at the era of the events of the EPP in Borgo Piave. Then there is the attempt to share responsibility with the managers of the Municipality who, according to the Mayor, opposed Commissioner Valente’s resolution, but without success given that the Commissioner signed that act. And again, we end up inconveniencing the Supreme Court of Cassation in United Sections with a ruling from December 2019 which defines the jurisdiction for fraudulent bankruptcy to the Court of Auditors, therefore discharging the responsibility of the Municipality from being a civil party. Finally, the icing on the cake: the citizens will pay for a professional consultancy assignment necessary, again according to the Mayor, to verify whether or not the conditions for a civil party are met. We are absurd.”
«As the opposition – continue the councilors – we immediately put the issue of the establishment of a civil party at the center of the political question. There are too many signs of rethinking, coming from the majority and its executive, compared to what was decided by Commissioner Valente, i.e. the sacrosanct constitution in a trial for the bankruptcy of the then subsidiary in which, if the theses of the Public Prosecutor’s Office are confirmed, they are the responsibilities of administrators, managers and officials are enormous, both on the side of the company and that of the Municipality. This is also demonstrated by the party consultancy report, requested posthumously by the organisation, which speaks of millions of euros of services invoiced and poorly contested by the Municipality, for which today we just have to pay. But for the current majority, all this does not deserve the establishment of a civil party: does this majority really have the audacity that the citizens have not been damaged by the management of the Latina Ambiente company? Have the courage to say it in the Council. Have the courage to say that citizens do not deserve any compensation.”
«We strongly denounced the intention to take a step back, which emerged in the city council from the presentation of councilor Nasti, despite the task already conferred by the commissioner to the Legal Department at a time when Nasti herself was sub-commissioner. We have forcefully attacked the administration’s attempt to escape being brought as a civil party by using the amendment to the Municipal Lawyer’s Regulation, with the inclusion of a list of crimes for which the body must be brought into action which does not include the crime of fraudulent bankruptcy . Coincidentally, the very crime at issue in the trial for the bankruptcy of Latina Ambiente. Thanks to our complaint and a Transparency commission on the topic, the draft Regulation was rightly brought back to a consultation table with the trade unions. The attempt to use it to withdraw from the constitution in a process in which 26 people are under investigation, some of whom – writes the Mayor – enjoy her full trust, can be said to have failed. People on his staff including – add the councilors – a free legal consultant for whom the payment of numerous and onerous fees is being arranged, referring to past services which have not been recognized until now and which even burden, in the residual liabilities, the statement of the entire municipality that the majority would like to approve”.
«The establishment of a civil party does not mean condemning anyone, but rather asserting the rights of the organization and therefore of all the citizens of Latina if the trial ends with an accusation. Day after day – the minority groups conclude – we have confirmation of what we feared: it seems that this administration is mainly committed to settling personal interests as an effect of electoral agreements, rather than thinking about public affairs. And the community pays the consequences.”
