Battipaglia, city councilor Francesco Falcone arrested. He is under house arrest: he is accused of extortion and abuse of office.
An area for the provision of food and drinks granted to a relative of the city councilor, instead of to the entrepreneur who was entitled to the extension of the concession in light of the Covid regulations.
This is what emerged from the investigations of the Salerno Public Prosecutor's Office which culminated in the order issued by the investigating judge of the Court of Salerno which orders house arrest for Battipaglia municipal councilor Francesco Falcone, at the time of the events president of the Battipaglia municipal council.
Falcone is under investigation for the crime of attempted extortion. The investigations carried out by the Battipaglia branch of the finance police arose from a check carried out on an itinerant commercial operator, aimed at ascertaining the regular occupation of the area of public land where he carried out his activity.
The episodes at the centre of the investigations concern the concession provision relating to the occupation of public land in the off-market parking lot in via Belvedere, in Battipaglia, which became the object of dispute between two citizens, both interested in benefiting from themunicipal authorization to carry out the activity of serving food and drink to the public.
According to the reconstruction, a municipal manager, under pressure from Falcone, with a new administrative provision granted the same area to a relative of the suspect, despite the fact that the entrepreneur who was the first assignee had presented a request for an extension of the advanced concession, a request that should have been accepted due to the emergency legislation in force due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Subsequently, they allegedly arranged, in conjunction with two local police officers (one of whom is now retired), repeated checks on the person believed to be the legitimate assignee of the concession, in order to induce him to abandon the area assigned to him.
Article published on 16 June 2022 - 10:24
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