Trial on Public Contracts Awarded in Exchange for Bribes Begins

The hearing of the trial on public contracts awarded by Rfi officials in exchange for money and gifts to companies colluding with the Casalesi clan has begun at the court of Santa Maria Capua Vetere. The deputy of the Naples Antimafia District Directorate, Graziella Arlomede, however, did not file any statement by Francesco Sandokan Schiavone, reserving the right to do so in the coming hearings, since the collaboration of the Casalesi godfather only started a few weeks ago, and any statements already made will still have to be verified. It is certain, however, that the positions of Nicola Schiavone and his brother Vincenzo Schiavone could be strongly influenced by the words of Francesco Schiavone, given the personal and economic relationships so dated; the 70-year-old Nicola Schiavone even baptized Sandokan's first-born. In today's hearing, a consultant of the prosecution was heard, who confirmed that in 1981, in the construction company Scen of Nicola Schiavone, Francesco Sandokan Schiavone appeared as a partner. The lawyers of the 70-year-old consultant, Caterina Greco and Umberto Del Basso De Caro, asked the president of the court panel Giuseppe Meccariello to continue the trial behind closed doors, but the magistrate rejected the request, considering that 'there was no reason to deny the principle of public hearing established by the code of criminal procedure, which details the reasons for exception (public order and hygiene, ed.) that do not occur here.'