Corruption in Positano: 11 people under investigation for rigged contracts
The Salerno Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating alleged irregularities in the awarding of public works in the coastal municipality. Among those under investigation are the former mayor and two former assessors.
Corruption in Positano: 11 people under investigation for rigged contracts
A judicial investigation struck the municipality of Positano at the start of the tourist season. Carabinieri officers searched the municipal offices, seizing computers and documents and leaving the local authority in a state of operational paralysis for several days.
The investigation is coordinated by prosecutor Raffaele Cantone and deputy prosecutor Alessandro Di Vico of the Salerno Public Prosecutor's Office. The focus is on the years of the administration led by the previous mayor Giuseppe Guida. In total, 11 individuals are under investigation: the former mayor, two former assessors — including Michele De Lucia, who previously led the municipality in the previous decade — eight entrepreneurs and nine companies.
The search warrant refers to a "stable subordination" of the former administrators to third parties, "subjects mostly entrepreneurs, operating with substantial continuity in the sector of public contracts". The total value of contracts subject to investigation comes close to 4 million euros.
The alleged illicit mechanism would have operated from 2019 until the vote of May 2026. The investigation was launched following reports from the "Superpositano" group, led by Gabriella Guida, a municipal councillor who became mayor at the end of May. The newly elected mayor had denounced lots of work fragmented to assign them to entrepreneurs linked to the old majority, circumventing public tenders.
Particular interest by investigators concerned the use of the tourist tax: approximately two million per year, of which 70% directed towards territorial maintenance interventions. According to the accusations, services were awarded to cooperatives often with registered offices at the former mayor's studio in Piano di Sorrento, replicating in some cases activities already carried out by other companies.
Among the investigative elements, there emerges the attempt by the entrepreneurs under investigation to have the old administrators re-elected, a circumstance which the magistrate considers an indicator of electoral corruption. Notable is the absence of municipal managers and officials from the list of those under investigation, figures necessary for the adoption of resolutions. Sources close to the investigation clarify that "proceedings are being conducted in stages".
The lawyer for former mayor Guida, lawyer Michele Sarno, has challenged the decree before the Court of Review, which will have to decide on the validity of the records and reports.
Source: Il Fatto Quotidiano - Cronaca