Federico Pella, a former J+S manager under house arrest in the Milan urban planning investigation, expressed intense anger and disillusionment after reviewing case documents. “At this moment, I am totally furious and disappointed,” he stated, concluding, “I saw that he probably didn’t truly believe in me. I was just a tool, a small cog (…) in a system I don’t even know.” Pella described reaching a point where he “started to feel used,” realizing “today I see that I am a pawn.”
Pella distanced himself from Giuseppe Marinoni, the suspended president of the City’s Landscape Commission, who is also under house arrest. Prosecutors allege Marinoni acted as a “partner” to an engineering firm to which he invoiced approximately €370,000 ($400,000) for consultancy work while approving projects they submitted.
During a preliminary hearing on July 23rd before Judge Mattia Fiorentini, Pella denied any alleged “collaboration pact” with Marinoni – whom he described as “not even likeable in the office” – and defended himself by shifting blame onto the Commission president. Marinoni, whom Pella once called “professor,” was removed from his post last April. Pella asserted he was “taken for a ride” by an individual who exploited his expertise in public-private partnerships and “node” development.