LAMEZIA TERME «A close relationship in which it was achieved a corrupt exchangehaving as its object, on the one hand, the promise of carrying out administrative acts or in any case advantages for the group, on the other, the promise of subsequent and then effective disbursement – as a consideration, sums of money as contributions to the “Giovanni Toti Committee – Liguria”. This is what the investigating judge of the Court of Genoa, Paola Faggioni, wrote in the order that yesterday sent Paolo Emilio Signorini to prison and Giovanni Toti and Aldo Spinelli under house arrest.
Born in Calabria, in Palmi, in Reggino, from mother Carmela and father Roberto, a boatswain who died in the Atlantic Ocean in the shipwreck of the Bonitas, when he was only 42 years old, Aldo Spinelli is a historic port and football entrepreneurfirst with Genoa, bought in 1985 and sold in 1997, and then with Livorno from 1999 until 2020. He built his empire starting from the transport of goods and containers by truck and from there he added piece by piece, sensing the development of the market, intermodal centers, warehouses, port terminals.
The requests for “help” made by Spinelli
The charges brought forward are of continued corruption. In reconstructing the accusatory framework, the investigators scheduled a meeting in the imminence of the Savona local elections. This is a lunch that took place on board Aldo Spinelli’s yacht, during which the latter – also in the presence of his son Roberto – «made two specific requests to President Toti of high importance for his business interests and obtained one immediate taking charge”, notes the investigating judge in the order. Spinelli, in fact, asked the Ligurian governor to «find a solution to transform the free beach of Punta Dell ‘Olmo – located between the Municipality of Celle Ligure and that of Varazze – from “free beach” to “private beach” and to speed up the process of renewing the Bulk Terminal concession pending before the AdSP management committee and to ensure its renewal for a very high number of years”. And Toti, as the investigating judge still reports, with two phone calls in rapid succession made from Spinelli’s yacht and in the presence of the Spinellis, «he immediately put himself at the “service” of the entrepreneur». The private individual’s requests were accompanied “by Spinelli’s promise to provide funding to Giovanni Toti’s political movement, a promise, moreover, which was immediately accepted by Toti himself”, it is further written in the order.
READ ALSO: Elections in Liguria, the Calabrians disappointed by Toti’s candidate. “You’re a clown”
As the investigating judge further notes in the order, «in the imminence of at least four different electoral competitions, meetings took place between Toti and Spinelli (almost always on the entrepreneur’s yacht safe from “prying eyes”) during which the former he explicitly asked for a “hand” for the upcoming elections and the second replied in turn asking for “the arrangement” of various practices of his interest which fall within the functional competence of the Liguria Region”. The investigators are monitoring a meeting, in particular, dating back to September 1, 2021 on board Aldo Spinelli’s “Leila 2” yacht. «During the meeting Toti, after taking charge of two specific requests made by the entrepreneurs, practical Olmo beach and practical renewal of the Bulk Terminal, accepted the promise of financing in anticipation of the administrative elections scheduled for the first days of October 2021″, writes the investigating judge. During the meeting, as reconstructed by the investigators, Toti would have urged a regional councilor present with them «to find a solution for the “Punta dell’Olmo beach” and, in the presence of the entrepreneurs present, he specified the desire to transform the destination of the beach”, notes the investigating judge. «(…) I’m having lunch with the entire Spinelli family (…) we need to find a solution for the beach there at Punta dell’Olmo… eh well we’ll put ourselves there… but let’s rationalize the free ones that are equipped there, let’s merge, let’s move… but in reality it will become a concession there but let’s put one foot in and then we’ll see…”. And again: «(…) maybe in the Region where there is also Marco and our new manager at the State Property Office, let’s see what we can come up with…». It is the Ligurian governor himself who speaks while he is intercepted by the PC. In particular, the center of the discussion is the Punta dell’Olmo beach, a coastal stretch in front of the former Bergamo colony of Celle Ligure, acquired by the Punta dell’Olmo SpA real estate company, a company entirely owned by SPININVEST Srl and owned by the Spinelli family .
Also during the same day, approximately twenty minutes after the first phone call, governor Toti, still in the company of the Spinellis on board the entrepreneurs’ yacht, called Paolo Emilio Signorini, President of the Port System Authority of the Western Ligurian Sea. As the investigating judge still reports in the order, the subject of the conversations between Toti, Spinelli and Sigorini was to be «attributed to the request for renewal of the concession of the state-owned maritime area between the Rabattino bridge and the former Idroscalo bridge on the eastern side of the port of Genoa», employed for the port operations and services of the Terminal Rinfuse Genova Srl company, headed, mostly, by the entrepreneurs Aldo and Roberto Spinelli. Particularly significant is the fact that, about an hour after the telephone conversations, the President of the Region «made a telephone call to the contact person of his political Secretariat as well as delegated to operate on the current account of the “Giovanni Toti Committee – Liguria” – from the content of which it was clear that a payment had been made by Spinelli in favor of the Toti Committee”, notes the investigating judge. «Send the documents to Spinelli’s secretary where we want him to make a payment, which will make it normal, like everyone else in short» «you get them to tell you who it is, so you do it and then after that I’ll tell you the rest orally».
During the evening of September 1, 2021, Toti calls Signorini again. «(…) I’ll tell you a bit about Spinelli today… let’s bring that stuff to the Committee as soon as possible which is (…) but if we can do it by mid-September it’s convenient for me too… so…”. According to the investigators and as reported by the investigating judge in the order, “Toti’s interest in reaching the extension of the concession quickly” in order to “gain a personal advantage” appears immediately evident. The haste highlighted by Toti, in fact, can only be referred to the «promise of financing received on the same day by Spinelli in view of the local elections in early October and, therefore, to the need to receive the payment in time for the electoral competition ». The relationship of correspondence between the financing and the renewal of the concession emerges even more clearly in the conversation of 9 September 2021, during which «Toti once again asked Spinelli for financing» and the latter was explicit in the clarify that the financing would be disbursed only after “the decision of the Management Committee on the renewal of the concession within the requested terms”, we further read in the ordinance. «(…) your stuff goes on the 29th… remember that I’m also waiting for a hand… eh?» Toti says to Spinelli who replies: «Yes, yes, but I sent them to you, I sent them…».
However, things don’t go as planned, at least not right away. The approval times for the extension of the Bulk Terminal concession, in fact, are subject to an unexpected lengthening also due to the opposition from some members of the Management Committee, «temporarily “faltering” the execution of the corruption agreement». Only at the end of November – with the overcoming of the differences within the Committee and in anticipation of the approval of the renewal of the concession «the Toti and Spinelli relations will return to be calm and the payment already promised will be once again explicitly requested by Toti and confirmed by Spinelli”, notes the investigating judge. Once again Spinelli and Toti will speak explicitly during a lunch organized on 1 December 2021 by the entrepreneur on his yacht with Toti and Signorini for «the imminent and now obvious approval of the concession renewal, scheduled for the following day », notes the investigating judge. «(…) come on, now let’s finish this operation here – says Toti – then we’ll see each other to talk about some stuff…» «let’s celebrate the Bulks…». And Spinelli: «The official one is two per thousand… everything else… the rest after». ([email protected])
Corriere della Calabria is also on WhatsApp. Enough click here to subscribe to the channel and always be updated
