The corruption charge was almost entirely dismissed at the conclusion of the preliminary hearing held at the Santa Maria Capua Vetere Courthouse regarding the expansion of the "Pineta Grande Hospital" in Castel Volturno. Thirty-six people, including municipal administrators and regional officials, businessmen, and public employees, were charged with corruption.
Preliminary hearing judge Orazio Rossi acquitted seven defendants, committing twenty-eight for trial on charges of abuse of office, forgery, and violation of urban planning regulations. Only two of those scheduled for trial—the first hearing is scheduled for April 19th—have been charged with corruption, a charge the Prosecutor's Office had initially brought against over twenty defendants.
Vincenzo Schiavone, a key figure in the proceedings, a well-known healthcare entrepreneur and owner of the Pineta Grande clinic in Castel Volturno, the "Padre Pio" nursing homes in Mondragone, Villa Bianca in Naples, and Villa Ester in Avellino, will face trial for abuse of office and other charges, but not for the corruption charge that landed him under house arrest.
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According to the Santa Maria Capua Vetere Public Prosecutor's Office, Schiavone allegedly obtained administrative documents from the Municipality and the Region authorizing him to expand the clinic, both in terms of urban planning and bed capacity. He did so by bribing public officials and local administrators, hiring their relatives and friends to work in his facilities. This allegation, however, did not hold up at the preliminary hearing, with the preliminary hearing judge partially acquitting Schiavone of the corruption charge and partially downgrading the charge to abuse of office.
And it is precisely for this latter charge, and not the more serious one, that the former mayor of Castel Volturno, Dimitri Russo, regional officials Antonio Postiglione (head of the health sector), Antonio Podda, and Arturo Romano, the president of AIOP (Italian Association of Private Hospitals) Sergio Crispino, the official of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, Giuseppe Schiavone, the former manager of the Caserta Local Health Authority, Mario Di Biasio, and the former Superintendent, Salvatore Buonomo, will also be on trial. Luigi Cassandra, former parliamentarian Americo Porfidia, Rachele Buffardi, Michele Lamberti, Augusto Chiosi, Pasquale De Feo, and Antonella Guida, were instead found not to be indicted.
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