The legal case of the former budget assessor of Salerno, Roberto De Luca, son of the governor of the region Vincenzo De Luca. Involved in the investigation Bloody Money, launched in 2018 by the site Fanpage.it, De Luca had resigned while the investigations of the Prosecutor's Office of Naples they began to search the office and home of the young De Luca.
In the last few days the affair has suffered an abrupt and, at least apparently, definitive halt with the acceptance by the Public Prosecutor's Office of the request to archive the case, advanced in February and accepted in July by the GIP.
The investigation
It all started with an investigation by Fanpage.it, called “Bloody Money”, and advertised on social media, in a “serial” version, like the most spectacular Gomorrah, but with real people and money involved.
Former Camorra Boss Nunzio Perrella he had in fact made himself available, after having served 21 years of house arrest, to highlight, through Fanpage.it, the problem of bribes in the waste management in Campania. A meeting, the one between Perrella and Collection, apparent "intermediary" of the agreement, which had seen De Luca involved in discussing in his office tenders for the assignment of the disposal task in inappropriate places and speaking about issues that are directly within the jurisdiction of the Region, led by his father.
What created the greatest scandal, however, was the subsequent meeting between Perrella and Colletta, filmed with a hidden camera, where Colletta showed the percentages of the bribes of this contract, describing to Perrella how the entire affair could “yield” several thousand euros for the people involved and apparently carrying out orders from the “principal” De Luca.
Beyond the initial scandal, following that story reported by Fanpage.it, Roberto De Luca resigned from Councillor for the Budget of the Municipality of Salerno and the Naples Prosecutor's Office began its investigations.
The trial and the closure
De Luca immediately declared himself a stranger to the facts, unaware of what was happening behind his back and the victim of a "trap" to his detriment. The investigations continued anyway, with a search of De Luca's office and apartment and the damage to the image of the 34-year-old well established in politics.
In July 2019 the Judge for Preliminary Investigations accepts the request, formulated in February, of archiving of the case, as De Luca was extraneous to the facts and had no connection with the other people involved. Nor did the person directly involved, Roberto De Luca, communicate in September in a video in which he illustrated the request made and commented on its points, with the satisfaction of someone who can remove a burden that has already weighed heavily on his life.
Video
It is precisely on social media, where the news of the scandal had gone viral, that De Luca appears to announce the acquittal, with a 3-minute video in which he reads the request and reiterates how the whole affair happened in his total unawareness, as well as defining "a positive day for me, for my family and for all those who have been close to me in these months, but also for the city of Salerno itself" the date of archiving. Apparently De Luca also plans a live meeting to explain the facts and thank everyone, but giving priority to the celebrations for the Patron Saint.
In the video, the man appears satisfied and confident, reporting excerpts of the request:
“You will remember the pseudo-journalistic investigation in which I was involved over a year and a half ago – Roberto de Luca writes on Facebook, in the post accompanying the video – Well, today we can reiterate that a real trap was set up to my detriment and without my knowledge: it is not me who says it, but the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Naples in February 2019 accepted by the GIP last July, with which it was ascertained that I was completely uninvolved in the plot organized by people who, without my knowledge, plotted a plot that was seriously damaging to my image. Complex investigations have made it possible to ascertain that the whole affair took place in my complete unawareness. «It is absolutely excluded – we read in the request – that De Luca was aware of the meeting between Colletta and Perrella. It is excluded that Colletta was responding to instructions received from De Luca»”.
Harsh tones, those of the former councilor, towards Fanpage.it, whose service is defined as "pseudo-journalistic investigation“, immediately underlining the objective, at least apparent, of creating a scandal with the help of actors and damaging the image of a young politician, without however preventively involving the Prosecutor's Office in what was already expected to become a judicial case.
De Luca then continues:
"It's a positive day for me, for my family and for all those who have been close to me in these months, but also for the city of Salerno itself: because even the hypothesis that one of its administrators could have been even slightly touched by the suspicion of incorrect or illicit behavior was a shadow over the entire city. We will soon organize a meeting to explain how the events unfolded and to thank everyone in person. We are not doing it these days because I believe it is more appropriate to honor the Patron Saint, but we will see each other together soon. Thank you all. And thank you also to the investigating bodies for having shed light on the matter".
The words that strike the most are those related to the interest in having solved a suspicion of wrongdoing within the municipal administration. The same meeting, publicized by De Luca, seems to be aimed precisely at reiterating the cleanliness of the administrative bodies in the affair, as well as clarifying his own point of view and the development of the facts.
After all, when watching the footage, it is clear that De Luca is only arguing with Perrella, without taking any action.
This ugly chapter in the history of the De Lucas, now a true political dynasty, is thus closed, but it leaves some questions open about the position of the former councilor in the whole affair. A story, that of Bloody Money, which once again puts the spotlight on the lack of transparency in the management of the eco-bales problem in Campania. The problem continues to be perpetuated over the years and the millions of wastes continue to have no certain and definitive resolution.
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