The commander of the Prato company Sergio Turini, formerly at the top of the Poggibonsi Carabinieri, arrested on 30 May, was released from prison yesterday to go under house arrest with an electronic bracelet. Although the Review Court had ordered the replacement of the measure already on 14 June, in fact it had not been possible to apply it due to the lack of the remote control device (the electronic bracelet), available since yesterday morning.
According to the prosecution, Turini allegedly made himself available to Italian and Chinese entrepreneurs, illegally accessing the database system of the police force to provide information. At least 99 accesses were identified. In particular, according to the prosecution, he allegedly provided Riccardo Matteini Bresci, CEO of the Colle di Prato Group, information on investigations, covered by secrecy, relating to employees and news on industrialists. In exchange, the entrepreneur allegedly paid for a trip to the US for the lieutenant colonel’s son and interceded with the undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Giorgio Silli to take action with the general command of the Carabinieri to prevent Turini from being transferred away from Prato. The lieutenant colonel, according to the prosecution, also procured clients for his friend Roberto Moretti by providing him with information obtained illegally from the database used by the police force in exchange for bottles of wine worth over 1,800 euros.
It is probable that Turini will ask to be questioned by the prosecutor’s office in the next few days. His lawyer, Giovanni Renna, requested the release of his client’s cellar of fine wines. The cellar was seized by the Prosecutor’s Office who is investigating to understand if the precious bottles were “bargaining goods” for the favors that the soldier, using his position, did to entrepreneurs in the area. The judge has not yet expressed his opinion on the release of seizure. The Prosecutor’s Office has arranged for the advice of a wine expert, called to evaluate the value of the cellar of Colonel Turini, who has always been passionate about wines. In all, over 500 bottles were examined. Among these there are some for connoisseurs and very expensive, such as a Tignanello for 450 euros, two Le Pergole Monteverdine cakes for 700 euros and also a magnum of Sassicaia from 2003 worth 750 euros. The total estimate of the “cellar” indicated by the consultant would amount to approximately 31 thousand euros.
