Prosecutors in Milan have secured a significant breakthrough in their investigation into alleged corruption within the city’s urban regeneration projects, leading to six arrests. The probe, which has shaken City Hall (Palazzo Marino), validates the prosecution’s depiction of a “tentacular and deep-rooted system” where segments of the political class, municipal officials, business leaders, and professionals allegedly prosper by bending or circumventing rules.
The investigation, dubbed “Hidden Garden” and centred on Piazza Aspromonte, alleges private interests exerted pressure on top institutional figures, including Mayor Giuseppe Sala, to secure approval for multi-million-euro developments. Prosecutors claim developers threatened to halt investments or pursue legal action if their projects were not approved. However, the specific accusation of “undue inducement” (induzione indebita), also levelled at Mayor Sala, was dismissed by the judge. Sala, reacting to the developments, stated: “I have never pursued personal objectives,” reaffirming his commitment to the city.
Milan preliminary investigations judge (GIP) Mattia Fiorentini, endorsing the prosecution’s framework, ordered house arrest for several key figures:
Giancarlo Tancredi, former city councillor
Manfredi Catella, CEO of real estate firm Coima (now stripped of powers)
Giuseppe Marinoni and Alessandro Scandurra, respectively President and member of the Commission for Landscape Assessment
Federico Pella, former manager of engineering firm J+S
Andrea Bezziccheri, owner of Bluestone, was jailed due to his criminal record, described “unscrupulousness,” and alleged long-term use of property speculation companies to commit crimes or access illicit funds.
The arrest order, issued by Milan’s Financial Police (GdF) and subject to appeal, follows the reconstruction by prosecutors Marina Petruzzella, Paolo Filippini, Mauro Clerici, and deputy prosecutor Tiziana Siciliano. While certain corruption episodes involving Marinoni and the undue inducement charge (specifically concerning the “Pirellino-Torre Botanica” project involving Tancredi, Catella, Sala, and architect Stefano Boeri) were not upheld, the core allegations of systemic corruption advanced.
Judge Fiorentini found no evidence that Sala, while then head of the commission evaluating projects, received or was promised benefits, despite alleged pressures. Mayor Sala commented: “I will continue to work for Milan with passion and dedication. My focus remains strong on the delicate phase it is going through, and I hope former councillor Tancredi can clarify his position as soon as possible.” Sala regained support from his Democratic Party (PD), while the League party demanded elections “as soon as possible.”
The judge’s order details Tancredi’s alleged role in a “corrupt pact” between Marinoni and Pella, involving Tancredi appointing Marinoni as commission president, securing city endorsement for Marinoni’s “Metropolitan Nodes and Gateways” project, and facilitating initiatives by the “Studio Marinoni – J+S spa” tandem.
This “Metropolitan Nodes and Gateways” project, nicknamed the “shadow PGT” (city master plan), along with developments like the former Via Pirelli tower, Olympic Village, and Goccia-Bovisa, is alleged to be central to murky interests. The probe highlights approvals granted by commission members who allegedly should have recused themselves due to receiving consultancy fees worth thousands of euros from the very companies proposing the residential towers and complexes under scrutiny.
The investigation suggests a fundamental mechanism where, according to the GIP, “professionals and entrepreneurs dictate the rules (even contributing to lawmaking) just to maintain acquired privileges.” Meanwhile, public officials allegedly “subcontract territorial planning to speculators” for private gain, behaving like “company sales agents” who “sell off their respective prerogatives to the highest bidder.”
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