The then chief of staff of the former governor of Sardinia, Christian Solinas, was acquitted on appeal of the charge of abuse of office and undue influence in the investigation into the appointments of Silvia Curto to the presidency and Antonio Belloi to Civil Protection who - according to the accusations - did not have the requisites.
The magistracy of the Council of State, Maria Grazia Vivarelli, had been sentenced in the first instance to 2 years and 8 months after having chosen the abbreviated procedure. In the same proceeding Solinas is still in the trial for abuse of office together with the former councilor Valeria Satta, accused not only of abuse of office but also of attempted extortion.
The Court, presided over by Judge Massimo Poddighe, dropped the two charges brought against the former Chief of Staff of the Region: abuse of office because it is no longer foreseen by the law as a crime, and undue inducement for not having committed the act.
The administrative magistrates' lawyers, Filippo Dinacci and Rinaldo Lai, are satisfied with the acquittal sentence, which, as a result of the first-degree conviction, is currently suspended by the Council of State.
The investigation - conducted by the prosecutor Andrea Vacca - contested the legitimacy of the appointments of the general directors of the presidency of the Region, the lawyer Silvia Curto, and of the Civil Protection, the engineer Antonio Pasquale Belloi, with experience in the Fire Brigade.
Deputy Attorney General Michele Incani had asked for the conviction to be confirmed, believing that two of the chosen ones, external to the administration, did not have the requisites to hold those managerial positions in the Region and contesting the legitimacy of the procedure followed, which presents serious violations of the law. "We are satisfied," the defense lawyers commented, "it is an act of justice in which we are happy to have participated." The reasons for the appeal sentence will be filed in 90 days.
