• The relatives of the victims: the same pain as then, but we do not stop

  • Viareggio massacre, appeal, Mauro Moretti convicted.

    Confirmed 7-year sentence

  • Viareggio massacre, Mattarella: "An unacceptable event, safety is a right"

  • Viareggio massacre: pg Cassazione asks for a new trial for Moretti

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08 January 2021 The charges of manslaughter for all the defendants and an appeal process bis for all for the Viareggio massacre of June 2009. The Court of Cassation overturned the sentence of the Court of Appeal of Florence, annulling the crime of manslaughter, because the aggravating circumstance of non-compliance with the rules on safety at work fell, and postponing a new appeal process for culpable railway disaster, which in some cases, such as that of the former CEO of FS, Mauro Moretti, and of the former CEO of Rfi, Michele Mario Elia, will verify the existence of any profiles of guilt, while for other positions he will have to reassess the sentence. 



The Court also confirmed the acquittals, established on appeal, of the two RFI executives, Giorgio Di Marco and Giovanni Costa. Moretti and Elia, in the second degree trial, had been sentenced to 7 and 6 years of imprisonment respectively. 



New appeal process, also for the former CEO of Trenitalia, Vincenzo Soprano, who had been sentenced to six years, and for Francesco Favo (at the time safety certifier for RFI), sentenced to 4 years. Second-degree judgment bis also for the then top management of Gatx Rail Austria, Gatx Rail Germany and Officine Jugenthal, companies in charge of maintenance of tank wagons, one of which derailed causing the LPG explosion.



The despair of family members at the verdict


Scenes of despair among the relatives of the victims of the Viareggio massacre, in front of the palace of the Court of Cassation in Rome. Many of them burst into tears when they received the news of the verdict declaring manslaughter prescribed for the railway disaster in which 32 people lost their lives in June 2009, following the exclusion of the aggravating circumstance of the violation of the safety rules. in work. "Great bitterness" for the decision of the Supreme Court, but "it did not end here". This was declared by Tiziano Nicoletti, lawyer for the victims' families, leaving Piazza Cavour, underlining that "it is not all to be redone, but largely yes. We will see the reasons, for us the most important thing was the cancellation of the aggravating circumstance on safety at work ".



Family victims: we live the same pain of 2009


"The outcome of the trial is disastrous". Thus Marco Piagentini, president of the association of the families of the victims of 29 June 2009 Marco Piagentini. "In fact, manslaughter is prescribed for everyone, the aggravating circumstance on the accident in the workplace has not been recognized - adds Piagentini -. Moretti and Elia will return to the court of appeal in Florence but only to redetermine some elements of the guilt ", he said." How to exclude the accident at work when it is in fact an accident at work, is something that cannot be explained - added Piagentini in live streaming -. We are heartbroken, we were speechless. understood in this country what the statute of limitations can lead to. One wonders what sense 11 years of lawyers, technicians, jurists have had:we find ourselves here today to be told that everything is prescribed. This is the bitter consequence of what happened. The courage to confirm the sentences was lacking. Today we are experiencing the same pain that we experienced on June 29, 2009 ".



Moretti's lawyer: put many things back in place


"It is a sentence that has radically affected the appeal judgment. The Supreme Court has put many things back in place". This is the comment by Franco Coppi, lawyer of Mauro Moretti, former CEO of FS, after the ruling of the Supreme Court.



The night of the tragedy


At 11.48 pm on 29 June 2009, a freight train departing from Trecate, in Piedmont, and headed for Gricignano, in Campania, derailed shortly after passing the Viareggio railway station. One of the tanks carrying LPG overturns on its side and gas escapes from a large hole. A few minutes later, a violent explosion: the most affected area of ​​the city is that of via Ponchielli, almost completely razed to the ground. The death toll was heavy, 32 in all, many of whom died in the following days due to the burns reported.



The investigations


The prosecutor of Lucca opens an investigation to verify the causes of the derailment and ascertain any responsibility. Four years later, in July 2013, the gup of Lucca, Alessandro Dal Torrione, indicted 33 defendants, individuals and legal entities. Among these, Mauro Moretti, former CEO of FS and RFI, Michele Mario Elia, former CEO of RFI, and Vincenzo Soprano, former CEO of Trenitalia.     



The first degree trial in Lucca


The trial opened in November 2013 in the Lucca exhibition center, which was transformed into a courtroom for the occasion. The most serious charges are those of culpable railway disaster, multiple manslaughter, involuntary fire and violation of safety regulations. After three years of hearings, in September 2016 the prosecutors received requests for sentencing: 16 years of imprisonment for Mauro Moretti, 15 years for Elia. As for the companies involved, the prosecutors are asking for substantial compensation from Ferrovie dello Stato, Trenitalia, FS logistics, Gatx Rail Austria (the company that owns the wagon that derailed and caught fire) and the Jugenthal workshops in Hanover (where maintenance was carried out of the wagon axis). On January 31, 2017, the first instance sentence: over twenty out of 33 defendants who are convicted.Seven years to Moretti, 7 and a half years to Elia and Soprano. Convictions also for the executives of the Austrian and German companies involved in the proceedings.



The appeal in Florence


Almost two years later, on November 13, 2018, the appeal process begins in Florence, over which the 'specter' of prescription hangs: on February 11, 2019 the prosecution concludes its indictment, asking for a conviction at 15 years and 6 months for Moretti - who announces to renounce the prescription -, at 14 and a half years for Elia and at 7 and a half years for Soprano. The conviction of foreign companies is also requested, albeit with a revision of the penalties linked to some prescribed crimes. On June 20, the Court of Appeal of Florence issued its sentence: the 7-year sentence imposed in the first instance on Moretti was confirmed, 6 years on Elia and Soprano, sentences for foreign defendants, acquittal for some RFI executives.   



The word to the cassation


On 2 December 2020, in full Covid emergency, the trial on the Viareggio massacre comes to the scrutiny of the Supreme Court: closed-door hearings, precisely to ensure compliance with the measures implemented to deal with the pandemic, family members in connection from Viareggio with their lawyers to get news in real time on what is happening at the 'Palazzaccio'. The deputy pg Pasquale Fimiani, at the end of his indictment, asks for a new trial for Moretti and 3 other defendants (Francesco Favo, former RFI safety certification manager, sentenced on appeal to 4 years; former RFI managers Giovanni Costa and Giorgio De Marco, acquitted on appeal) requesting the annulment with postponement of the second degree sentence for these only 4 positions. As for the other appeals, however, the pg asks for their rejection, and, therefore,confirmation of convictions.