“I’m finally free.” They were the first words spoken by the former mayor of Pozzuoli Vincenzo Figliolia when, at one o’clock last night, the carabinieri notified him of the release order ordered by the Naples Review Court, after 142 days under house arrest and a week of detention in the Poggioreale prison.
«Obviously he is very tired due to the long period of painful detention, in any case he is happy also because he did not expect such a prompt response from the Review. He suffered a little while waiting for the execution of the court order which, although issued in the afternoon of June 11th, was carried out at one in the morning of the 13th. I am very happy, after what I consider to be an extremely long period. Now we will be able to work with serenity and prepare the trial as best as possible” explains the lawyer Gigi De Vita.
Figliolia is now awaiting two trials in the case-Rione Terra: the first, celebrated with immediate judgment, sees him accused together with the entrepreneur from Pozzuoli Salvatore Musella and to the former national leader of the Democratic Party Nicola Oddati, for corruption, auction rigging and trafficking in illicit influence, crimes for which precautionary measures were taken. The three will have to appear before the VII criminal section (college C) for the hearing on 3 October. The second trial always sees Figliolia accused together with all the others involved in the legal matter, for the crimes not covered by the precautionary custody order. The hearing is set for June 27, on which occasion the investigating judge will also have to rule on the request made by prosecutors Stefano Capuano and Immacolata Sica regarding the crime of criminal association, a charge that had previously been “stripped out”.
A long and intricate legal case that began at dawn on January 15th when 12 precautionary custody orders were issued as part of an investigation into the tender for the assignment of lot A of the Rione Terra di Pozzuoli which provided for the management, for 18 years, of a widespread hotel with 84 rooms, 15 shops, 2 bars and a restaurant. With Figliolia, Oddati and Musella also ended up in Poggioreale, the only one who still remains under house arrest.
According to the accusations, Figliolia favored the Cytec srl of Musella to the detriment of the company that came first in the final ranking, “Cultura e Natura srl” which is headed by the mayor of Parete, Gino Pellegrino. In 2021, after having obtained the highest score, the proposal of Pellegrino’s company was subject to checks by Deloitte requested by the then mayor of Pozzuoli who blocked the procedure. Suspended in recent months as a municipal councilor by virtue of the precautionary measure that triggered the Severino law, Figliolia could also return to the opposition benches where he is now replaced by Angelo Lucignano.
