Caserta. An investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Santa Maria Capua Vetere has led to the arrest of 5 people for corruption and falsification of public documents as part of an investigation into rigged public tenders in the Municipality of Caserta.
Among those arrested are the councilor for Public Works Massimiliano Marzo, the managers Franco Biondi and Giovanni Natale, the municipal employee Giuseppe Porfidia and the entrepreneur Gioacchino Rivetti.
A widespread system of corruption
The investigations revealed an alleged corruption system which saw close collaboration between municipal managers and councilor Marzo to award public contracts in an illicit manner. In some cases, contracts were “unpackaged” so that they could be awarded directly to compliant companies without having to follow the tender procedures.
Benefits in exchange for contracts
In exchange for favors, construction work in their private homes and even the payment of an insurance policy, public officials would award contracts to pre-selected companies. In some cases, the building supplies for public works were even purchased by the company of which councilor Marzo was a 50% shareholder.
Public works under the magnifying glass
The contracts under investigation concern interventions on school buildings, green areas and the municipal kennel, for a total value of approximately 180 thousand euros. According to the accusations, the works were started even before the relevant documents were drawn up in the Municipality and the award decisions were drawn up only after the fact. The same process was also used for payments to contractor companies.
Investigations launched with the new administration
The investigative activity began with the installation of the current municipal administration and also brought to light a hypothesis of electoral corruption, which concerns some of the suspects but not those arrested today. According to investigators, during the last municipal elections votes were bought in exchange for contracts and preferences, at the price of 50 euros each.
Reactions from the Municipality
The mayor of Caserta, Carlo Marino, declared that he has “full confidence in the work of the judiciary and the police” and underlined that “the work of the administration continues regularly”. The delegations of the managers involved were temporarily assigned to other officials and the General Secretary. The mayor also took over the powers of the arrested councilor, Massimiliano Marzo, on an interim basis.
An investigation that shakes the city
The investigation by the Santa Maria Capua Vetere Public Prosecutor’s Office has had a strong impact on the city of Caserta and sheds a worrying light on the level of corruption within the Municipality. Further developments are expected in the coming weeks, with the possibility of new arrests and the opening of new lines of investigation.
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