Mayor of Cefalà Diana acquitted in building abuse investigation

Last Updated: March 12, 2024

Avvisò una coppia di un'indagine su abusi edilizi: non è reato, assolto il sindaco di Cefalà Diana

Acquitted because the fact does not exist. With this motivation, the Termini Imerese Court rejected the accusation against Giuseppe Virgilio Cangialosi, 68 years old, mayor of Cefalà Diana. Cangialosi, known as Pippo, now in his second term as mayor of the small town, was investigated for allegedly using confidential information, used to have some building abuses removed that were under investigation by the carabinieri.

The incident dates back to February 2020, when the officers of the Villafrati station had sent a letter to the Municipality of Cefalà Diana to request documentation related to the ownership of land in the Piano Vignazze district. Behind this request was the suspicion that unauthorized buildings had been constructed in the area. The note was then forwarded to the mayor’s office.

It is at this point that, according to public prosecutor Alessandro Macaluso, Cangialosi would have abused his position, in violation of the duties inherent in his function. He would have informed the owners, the spouses M. C. D. M. and G. C., of the ongoing investigation against them. Furthermore, once it was confirmed that two structures were built without building permits and to prevent his fellow citizens from facing sanctions, the mayor also suggested they promptly remove a shed. A crime, according to the accusation, provided for by article 326 of the penal code, so much so that, in December 2021, the prosecutor had requested Cangialosi’s indictment. The request was already granted by the judge for the preliminary hearing Bencivinni in January 2022. The defendant has always maintained his innocence.

During the subsequent six hearings, the prosecutor called on the carabinieri from the Villafrati station to testify, while the mayor’s defense, represented by attorneys Rosaria Messina and Angelo Brancato from the local bar association, questioned the employees of the Municipality’s protocol office. The lawyers argued from the outset that the mayor had not used confidential information, trying to show the judging panel that the act in question was not secret. “There was no ‘qualified’ knowledge of the act by the mayor – explain the lawyers. The note sent by the carabinieri was also distributed to many other municipal offices, precisely because it did not have a particular confidential nature. It had in fact been treated in the same way as correspondence from any other public body.” This argument was rejected by the prosecutor who, at the end of the trial, requested Cangialosi’s sentence to six months’ imprisonment.

The Tribunal (consisting of President Potestio, members Quattrocchi and Stuppia), according to the device published yesterday (March 7), instead accepted the defense’s request. “Acquitted because the fact does not exist,” the sentence reads. “We have demonstrated – declare the lawyers – that our client did not disclose any secrets. In any case, the mayor had only intervened to have an abuse removed, his intention was to bring a situation that appeared irregular back to legality.” Within ninety days, the reasons for the sentence will be published. The prosecutor will have another 45 days to decide whether to appeal the sentence or not.