And the appointment of a commissioner to Forestas is also illegitimate: the president of the first section of the TAR, Giulia Ferrari, issued a decree suspending the effectiveness of the regional council's resolution appointing Mario Graziano Nudda as the agency's special commissioner.
All in a few hours: yesterday, July 1st, the president Alessandra Todde and her councilors had decided to entrust the top position to Forestas, in the evening the lawyer Mauro Barberio filed the appeal and the president of the Administrative Court agreed with him.
Barberio acted on behalf of Salvatore Piras, the sole director of Forestas, whose appointment was declared null and void by the Regional Anti-Corruption Office. The story is well known, but it's worth recalling so as not to get lost in this intricate affair.
The mess began at the end of May, when the Regional Anti-Corruption and Transparency Office declared Piras's appointment, appointed by Alessandra Todde's government in June 2024, null and void. The argument was that he could not hold public office in the Region because, in the year prior to his appointment, he had received funds from the Region—actually from Ares— in his capacity as director—a position he still holds—of the Gesù Nazareno company, which operates in the socio-healthcare rehabilitation sector. Therefore, he was "ineligible." The Anti-Corruption Authority has also initiated proceedings to identify any liability: Piras (who has always maintained he has hidden nothing about his career) but also Todde and the councilors.
The now (in theory) former sole director has appealed the ruling. A week ago, the Regional Administrative Court (TAR) rejected his request for a single-judge ruling that would have restored him to the role, at least temporarily, pending a decision on the merits of the appeal against the declaration of nullity.
Meanwhile, the Todde Council met yesterday to appoint Nudda as the agency's special commissioner. And it made another mistake, according to the Regional Administrative Court: the decree published today establishes that "in light of a comparative assessment of interests, the need to ensure the preservation of the 'res adhuc integra' takes priority." In other words, it's best not to jeopardize the situation while awaiting a decision on the main appeal.
Finished? Not at all. Because starting tomorrow, Piras will return to work: lawyer Barberio requested it, and the Personnel Office seems to have agreed.
Another fact: the Region has not appeared in any proceedings.