Catello Maresca returns to be a magistrate but without leaving politics. Elected to the City Council of Naples and having completed the leave of absence that he had requested and obtained in order to run for mayor, Maresca asked the CSM to return to service.
And the Palazzo dei Marescialli gave him the green light, albeit with some stomach aches: obviously he will no longer be a public prosecutor in Naples, but will be a counselor at the Court of Appeal of Campobasso, a destination that he himself had indicated after other requests had been rejected.
The decision passed with 11 votes in favor and 10 abstentions, a symptom of widespread discontent. “It is unacceptable that a serving magistrate is the leader of the opposition to the government of the city in which he lives,” said the Area magistrate Giuseppe Cascini, pointing the finger at the “guilty inertia of the legislator” which allows a “mixture” of productive roles of a “serious damage to the image of the independence of the judiciary”.
Shortly before, his colleague from the same group Mario Suriano had explained his abstention as a signal to politics that “the problem must be solved”.
Maresca, last October 12, had submitted an application with which he asked to return to service indicating as preferred offices the Attorney General's Office at the Court of Appeal of Bari; the Attorney General's Office at the Court of Appeal of Florence; the Attorney General's Office at the Court of Appeal of Bologna. Offices to which he could not aspire, however.
The magistrate then listed a new series of venues including the Campobasso Court of Appeal, along with the Salerno Court of Appeal and the Salerno Tribunal. “I calmly answer that I respect the decisions of the CSM and I am happy to return to do my job. At the same time, as a citizen, I will try to give a contribution to my city”.
Thus Catello Maresca, opposition councilor in the City Council of Naples, regarding his return to his role, decided by the Superior Council of the Judiciary, at the Court of Appeal of Campobasso.
"The candidate for mayor of Naples Catello Maresca returns to exercise the functions of magistrate, in Campobasso, while continuing to be simultaneously a city councilor and presumed leader of the opposition. It is a disgrace that one can be a politician and a magistrate at the same time". This is stated by the former mayor of Naples, Luigi de Magistris, who raises the issue of "the moral question because while you write a sentence you dictate a political statement, while you give a closing speech you prepare a rally. We are talking - he continues - about the same magistrate who before taking leave to run for office in the city where he had carried out his duties as a prosecutor had been campaigning for months". De Magistris says he feels "bitterness for the many magistrates and citizens who, like me, want to believe in an autonomous and independent judiciary".
Article published on 7 December 2021 - 18:28
Video Chronicles
