Rigged Tenders in Grumo Nevano, Former Mayor Brasiello Released from Prison

The judges of the Naples Court of Review have ordered the release from house arrest of Vincenzo Brasiello, former mayor of Grumo Nevano, who was implicated in the investigation into rigged contracts for the city's waste disposal, which also implicated the current mayor, Pietro Chiacchio, who recently resigned. Also under house arrest are Luigi Chiacchio, the commander of the municipal police and head of the environmental service, and Antonio Pascale, a traffic policeman. All have been charged, to varying degrees, with embezzlement, fraud, abuse of office, misuse of invoices for non-existent transactions, and absenteeism. The investigation, which began in 2016, was born from a parliamentary question by Five Star Senator Paola Nugnes to the Minister of the Environment, according to which the contract, which began in 2006, was extended until 2013: “requiring the service manager to use vehicles and equipment for the exclusive use of the Municipality of Grumo Nevano; the use of newly built vehicles or vehicles built no more than 2 years ago, as provided for by the guidelines for the drafting of documents relating to the awarding of urban waste collection services, tender procedures and the execution of the related contracts; it provided for the depreciation of the vehicles used in the service calculated over a period of 5 years”. And again: “Upon expiry of the contract, the vehicles and equipment used to perform the service exclusively by the Contracting Authority, should the latter deem it convenient, will be acquired by the latter free of charge, except for the costs of the necessary transfers of ownership”. The new service is awarded by resolution of the security sector. Then there is the new 2013-2018 contract. The senators write: "The municipal administration continues to pay the company monthly the depreciation installments for the new vehicles envisaged in the business plan," and emphasize that "the Municipality is paying for the vehicles already used in the previous contract as new, even though they are old, fully depreciated, and effectively owned by the Municipality; in fact, the special tender specifications stipulate that the vehicles must be owned by the operator, must be suitable, and must be 'new.'"