Salvatore Piras is appealing to the Regional Administrative Court (TAR). He will challenge the ruling by the Regional Anti-Corruption Office, which declared his appointment as sole director of Forestas null and void due to ineligibility. Piras has initiated a parallel proceeding aimed at identifying any liability on the part of the Regional Council that appointed him to the position.
In short, according to the regional supervisory offices, Piras could not have been appointed because, in the year prior to his appointment (which dates back to June 2024), he was the general manager (a position he still holds) of the Opera Gesù Nazareno company. This company, working in the field of socio-health rehabilitation, received funds from regional healthcare agencies. This, according to national legislation on incompatibilities, is a factor that prevents him from being hired and appointed to public positions within the entity that provided the public funds.
In a statement, Piras emphasizes that he believes intervention is necessary "to prevent a complex legal matter from being transformed into a summary trial against myself, the Regional Council, and the offices that conducted the appointment process." For this reason, he announces his decision "to challenge the decision in the appropriate venues, first and foremost by requesting a stay from the Regional Administrative Court."
Piras "firmly rejects any attempt to portray this matter as the result of omissions, inaccuracies, or alleged concealed incompatibilities. There has never been any opaque conduct," he writes, "neither on my part nor on the part of the offices that conducted the proceedings."
Upon being appointed to the top post at Forestas, he emphasizes, "I made all the declarations required by law, clearly and transparently indicating every detail relating to my professional position. All information was fully known to the regional administration and the relevant bodies at the time of my appointment."
According to the administrator, the Anti-Corruption Authority's decision "is based on a particularly broad interpretation of Article 4 of Legislative Decree 39 of 2013, based on a case law ruling referring to situations profoundly different from the one concerning the undersigned."
Piras asserts "the full legitimacy of the process that led to my appointment. I believe it is unfair that a subsequent and questionable interpretation could be used to argue that the Regional Council, the administrative offices, or myself acted superficially or incompetently."