• Corruption in Nisseno: mayor and administrators arrested
  • Corruption, Anac: 44 contracts in 5 years, 633 anti-mafia disqualifications in 2019

Share

17 July 2020The mayor of Favignana Giuseppe Pagoto is under house arrest. The charges are bribery, forgery and bidding. The financiers of the provincial command of Trapani have notified eleven precautionary measures as part of an investigation by the Trapani prosecutor's office on the management of the municipality and the water supply system.

The municipal police commander and the former deputy mayor are also under house arrest, as well as the employee of a shipping company based in Naples.

In total there are 24 suspects from the prosecutors of Trapani, in addition to the four house arrests, three people are subjected to the residence ban, one to the residence obligation and three have been banned from exercising a public office.

Damages for 2 million euros
During the investigations, the financiers "ascertained a corrupt agreement" between the mayor, the pro-tempore deputy mayor and an assessor of the municipality of Favignana with the managers and employees of two companies that had obtained the management of the supply of drinking water from the Ministry of Defense , through tankers, in the smaller islands. Tax damage quantified for approximately 2 million euros.

The investigations after an anonymous letter
The investigations were carried out by the Tenenza of Favignana who, in September 2017, had been delegated by the prosecutor of the Republic of Trapani to investigate the content of an anonymous writing in which a non-transparent management of the Municipality of Favignana was reported and several alleged abuse of office committed by the mayor and other administrators and public officials of the institution.

From telephone and environmental wiretapping, a wider scenario of general and widespread illegality in the functioning of the municipal administrative apparatus emerged, making the yellow flames emerge, "the systematic and rather casual commission of multiple offenses", with particular regard to management water resources and supplies, the assignments of public works and services pertaining to the Marine Protected Area of ​​the Egadi Islands, the inspection activities under the responsibility of the local municipal police and the financial sector and the technical office.

The rewards of "favored" entrepreneurs
For their part, the entrepreneurs favored by the "tested illicit system", rewarded public officials with various advantages, including the hiring of relatives and acquaintances as employees within the aforementioned Neapolitan shipping company or through annual contributions of several thousand euros in favor of the Municipality of Favignana, which were then redistributed by the mayor to the various associations involved in the organization of the patronal feast.  

Abuse and abuse during 2018 elections
The investigations also revealed the commission by the first citizen, especially during the election campaign for the administrative elections in June 2018, of numerous abuses and offenses, with the collaboration of the compliant commander of the local municipal police.