The Court of Review has outlined a case of “improper corruption” and the “selling of public office” involving the former president of the Landscape Commission, Giuseppe Marinoni, manager Federico Pella, and former Milan city councilor Giancarlo Tancredi. In its reasoning, the court described a scenario where public functions were effectively “put on the payroll.”
The judges, Pendino, Ghezzi, and Tenchio, confirmed serious evidence of guilt for the three suspects, upgrading the charges from “corruption for acts contrary to official duties” to the more severe “corruption in the exercise of their function.” Instead of house arrest, the court applied preventative interdiction measures.
According to the court’s reconstruction, Marinoni was effectively on the “payroll” of manager Federico Pella. Former councilor Tancredi allegedly “knowingly contributed to the finalization of the corrupt pact” between the two by facilitating the city’s patronage of an initiative on ‘Metropolitan Nodes and Gateways.’ The court stated Tancredi made himself “available to facilitate the activities carried out by the tandem of Studio Marinoni srl and J+S spa,” Pella’s company.
This “full awareness” on Tancredi’s part was deemed unequivocal by the judges, based on chats acquired by the Economic and Financial Police Unit. The court further wrote that instead of ending Marinoni’s “conflict of interest,” Tancredi “worked for the successful collaboration” between Marinoni and Pella, thereby consolidating the “illicit agreement.”
Through Marinoni, the former councilor could allegedly favor private entrepreneurs in construction and urban planning, while Pella gained a “privileged channel with city politics.” Tancredi, in particular, was “able to ensure the successful outcome of projects” presented to the Landscape Commission. The Court of Review determined that the requirements for preventative custody could be met with the interdiction measures, making house arrest unnecessary.