The Anti-Mafia Commission requests the investigation files from Catania jurisdiction: Sammartino was careful to exclude those close to organized crime from the lists.
The Parliamentary Antimafia Commission has ordered the acquisition of the documents from the investigation carried out by the Antimafia District Directorate of Catania, which led to the Pandora operation, carried out by the Carabinieri against eleven politicians, municipal officials, and entrepreneurs, who received precautionary measures for political-mafioso exchange, extortion aggravated by the mafia method, corruption aggravated by an act contrary to the duties of office, instigation to corruption, and interference with freedom of auctions. The Prosecutor talks about the “business degeneration of the local government of the municipality of Tremestieri Etneo.” The investigation highlights the figure of the Vice President of the Sicilian Region Luca Sammartino, who has resigned from his position at the hands of President Renato Schifani. A prominent figure in the League in the Island, at the time of the events a regional deputy of the Democratic Party, Sammartino was suspended from public office for aggravated corruption for one year. He is the main political reference of the mayor of Tremestieri Etneo Santi Rando, who was arrested for political-mafioso exchange and aggravated corruption. Regarding Sammartino, the prosecutor explains that “he showed concern about protecting himself from possible ongoing investigations by excluding individuals with links to organized crime from the lists, whom he apparently relied on during elections.” He also activated “surveillance and technical cleanup activities of his political office premises using active and retired Carabinieri personnel, also seeking to acquire confidential information about any pending criminal proceedings against him.” The judge of Catania has reserved the decision regarding a military officer of the Carabinieri on active duty, “whom Sammartino allegedly used, after paying sums of money, to carry out technical cleanup activities to search for microphones in his offices.” Therefore, the military officer will be questioned, after which the judge will evaluate the application of the preventive measure of suspension from the exercise of a public office or service, as requested by the prosecutor.
La Commissione antimafia chiede gli atti dell’inchiesta di Catania: per la procura Sammartino stava attento a escludere dalle liste chi era vicino alla criminalità organizzata
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