Pub owner in Palermo dies in police incident; officer convicted after 7 years

Last Updated: April 3, 2024

In Palermo, the judge of the IV criminal section, Daniela Vascellaro, sentenced Battista Cono, a police officer, to 2 years for vehicular manslaughter. His colleague Salvatore Giustiniani was acquitted of the false accusation. Seven years ago, they hit Dario Farrauto, 30 years old, owner of Mod Cafè in via Bara all’Olivella, with their police car. The victim, on a Vespa with a green light, was crossing the intersection between via Sammartino and via Dante. The officer was also given the accessory penalty of a one-year suspension of his driver’s license. Giustiniani was completely cleared of the accusation of falsifying the service report after the accident. The defendants were respectively defended by lawyers Ninni Reina and Giuseppa Lo Vasco. In the trial, Farrauto’s family joined as civil party with the assistance of lawyer Giuseppe Sceusa. The judge recognized the rights of the victim’s family to compensation, which will need to be quantified in civil court, but ordered the payment of a provisional sum of 300,000 euros.