The three chief engineers of the Tirrenia shipping company investigated in the investigation into ferry tickets given to officials of the port authority did not respond to the judge's questions at the Genoa prosecutor's office. Meanwhile, it was discovered that among the beneficiaries of the company's gifts was also the comedian Beppe Grillo and his son: both are not under investigation.
This morning, the chief engineers Alessio Ursomanno, Raffaele Del Gatto and Giovanni Ferrandino appeared before judge Silvia Carpanini. For them, prosecutor Walter Cotugno requested a ban, as for eight others, while for two he requested house arrest. The judge will decide whether or not to accept the request at the end of the preventive interrogations. According to what has emerged from the investigations, the companies of the Onorato group have given away, in six years, almost 34,000 tickets . Proof, for the prosecution, of an "impressive corruption mechanism", which involves strategic officials for the companies .
Among the beneficiaries are also the general commander Nicola Carlone and Roberto Isidori, deputy chief of staff of Matteo Salvini. For the investigators the free tickets were "unequivocally related" to preferential treatment . Among the users belonging to the port authorities and law enforcement agencies, two magistrates and public officials. Among the investigated also Achille Onorato, who yesterday availed himself of the right to remain silent before the prosecutor. No measures were requested for him.
In recent months, the investigation in which Beppe Grillo and Vincenzo Onorato, owner of the Moby group, were accused of influence peddling for an alleged illicit mediation by the founder of the 5 Star Movement was shelved in a court in Milan : according to the hypothesis, later deemed unfounded, between 2018 and 2019, Grillo would have forwarded to three parliamentarians of the Movement the requests for help made by the shipowner, a long-time friend, when his company was in financial crisis. In exchange, Onorato would have signed contracts to advertise Moby on the former comedian's blog.
(Online Union)