The Municipality of Volpago, for the environmental damage, as well as the Collalbrigo Estate (which had several bottles of wine that were irremediably lost) and the company that had provided the leasing for the warehouse. These are some of the statements of the civil party, in addition to the assurances that they would have been defrauded, at the preliminary hearing which was held today before the preliminary hearing judge Marco Biagetti against Mirco Poloniato, 32 years old, and his mother, the 64 year old Giovannina Bortolomiol, under investigation for the arson that on the evening of January 5, 2022 semi-destroyed Pmg srl, a logistics and transport company in Vedelago.
Poloniato and Bortolomiol are accused of having voluntarily set fire inside the PMG offices with the use of accelerant liquid. The fire took hold after reaching two containers containing 1,800 kilos of highly flammable substance. Everything, in the hypotheses of the Treviso Prosecutor’s Office, to collect the insurance premium which was 2 million euros. The policy was signed with Assicurazioni Generali.
The investigators carried out checks, acquired testimonies, viewed videos and analyzed telephone records which made it possible to place the presence of the two suspects near the company when the flames were set. The Fiamme Gialle also carried out economic-financial investigations, discovering that, within a year of the event, the redemption installment of the leasing contract for the burned property would have expired, a payment which could not have been honored except through an insurance compensation which would also guarantee new machinery, furnishings and equipment.
Furthermore, it would have emerged that Pmg would have lacked a fire prevention certificate: the company would in fact have, several years ago, presented a fire prevention project and the Fire Brigade would have given provisional approval subject to some works, which were never carried out. Even after the January 2022 fire, the recommendations were disregarded.
The defensive position of the owner of Pmg, Mirco Poloniato, assisted by the lawyers Lodovico Fabris and Urbano Bessegato, like those of his mother (lawyer Fabio Busnardo) is totally opposite: «We have highlighted», the lawyers had said at the time, «the total unfoundedness of the motive hypothesized by the investigators on the basis of incorrect information and with evaluation of the documents on file without the appropriate checks”. The defenders specify that there were no economic difficulties and the compensation obtainable following the fire was «considerably lower than the amount necessary to rebuild the property in the same conditions it was in before the event. We then documented that the leasing redemption installment had already been extended before the fire to May 1, 2024.” The reconstruction of the causes of the fire has been contested – with a biased expert opinion. «The findings – say the lawyers – took place 33 days after the event in a now contaminated scene. Our clients were not in the shed at the time of the fire.”
The Municipality of Vedelago (assisted by the lawyer Alessandro Michielan) requests compensation for damage from environmental pollution, in particular for the water used to put out the flames which, contaminated by harmful substances, would have ended up in the drains, risking compromising the aquifer. The Administration had also activated civil protection and the Local Police, in addition to the competent offices. The hearing was adjourned until July 25th.
