REGGIO EMILIA – There is no peace in the procurement of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia. Already sentenced (to one year, suspended sentence) in the trial on the alleged piloted tenders banned in 2016 by the administration, the entrepreneurs Vincenzo and Lorenzo Corradini, father and son, owners of the homonymous garage with tow truck service in the city, have won a appeal to the TAR of Parma concerning the service which, according to the first instance verdict of the judges, they were awarded in an irregular manner (as compensation for a credit they had with the institution, ed.).
It concerns the restoration of road safety conditions after road accidents which the Corradinis were awarded for the first time in 2017, managing it with various extensions expiring on 31 December 2023. The appellants, i.e. Corradini srl and the Italian Consortium However, Strade e Ambiente (of which the Reggio Emilia company is part) have reported that for some time “they have no longer been in a position to carry out the entrusted services”, because the competent authorities – and specifically the local police – “in cases of need for intervention on road arteries affected by accidents, they had always turned to the company La Nuova Reggio srls”.
Not only that: the appeal also contests that the Municipality, upon expiry of the agreement with the Corradini last year, “instead of arranging for the renewal of the concession or the technical extension for the time strictly necessary for the completion of a new tender procedure , would have proceeded with the direct assignment of the service in favor of the economic operator Mpm srl, for a duration of nine months, from 1 January 2024 to 30 September 2024”.
Among the points disputed by the Corradini also the fact that the direct award was decided by the commander of the Local Police Stefano Poma, “a person who also lacks any competence in the matter of awarding concessions and methods of choosing the contractor” and the value of the ‘assignment because, we read in the appeal, “the choice to foresee the duration of the concession for only nine months would reveal the elusive purpose of the competitive principles pursued by the municipal administration, since this duration would have allowed it to limit its value within the threshold of 140,000 euros so as to allow direct assignment”.
With added reasons, it was then complained that the service covered by the concession was not carried out by the contractor Mpm, but by another company (La Nuova Reggio), without registration in the national register of environmental managers, registration necessary for the activity . The case was heard on its merits on June 12 and the sentence was published today. The Corradinis’ appeal, except for the part concerning the technical extension which the Municipality was not required to make, was accepted.
On the direct assignment the judges instead write: “The complaints of the appellant regarding the procedure chosen by the Municipality of Reggio Emilia for the assignment of the service for restoring road safety conditions are well founded given that, in the present case… it is expected the negotiated procedure without tender with the prior consultation, where existing, of at least ten economic operators, without prejudice to the possibility for the granting body to opt for publicly available procedures”.
The administrative court of Parma, however, declared “the continuing effectiveness of the contract between the Municipality of Reggio Emilia and Mpm until 30 September 2024, with consequent rejection of the related legal claim”, but awarded the Corradini damages of 4,600 euros (in addition to revaluation and legal interests) “due to the 12 vehicle removal interventions carried out during the month of January 2024 by another company”. Piazza Prampolini is also responsible for the litigation costs – 6,000 euros – as well as legal accessories and refund of the unified contribution.
