Monza defender Armando Izzo , involved in a case of football betting and organised crime , has been sentenced to five years in prison by the VI criminal section of the Court of Naples for external competition in Camorra association and sports fraud.
Izzo sentenced to 5 years, with him also his cousin and Russo
During his closing speech, Naples prosecutor Maurizio De Marco had asked for 4 years and 10 months for the Neapolitan footballer.
Izzo 's cousin , Umberto Accurso , head of the Vinella Grassi clan of Secondigliano , and Salvatore Russo , believed to be linked to the same clan, were also sentenced to a year and a half.
The match involved in the incident: Modena-Avellino 2014
The facts for which the Neapolitan player was convicted date back to when he was playing for Avellino , in Serie B , for a match in the 2013-2014 championship. The match at the centre of the judicial affair is Modena-Avellino , played on 17 May 2014.
According to the deputy prosecutor Maurizio De Marco , the brothers Antonio and Umberto Accurso (leaders of the Vanella Grassi clan ), first using Salvatore Russo as an intermediary , and then directly, promised and then had 30 thousand euros delivered to the player Francesco Millesi , delivered by his colleague Luca Pini , to corrupt other footballers.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, Millesi allegedly used his influence on other Avellino players to help Modena score . According to investigators, Antonio Accurso , on behalf of the clan , bet 400 euros on the goal scored by the home team ( Modena ), earning 60.
Armando Izzo , finally, would have accepted , in turn, the promise of a sum of money , writes the prosecutor in the charges "as compensation for the purpose of achieving a result different from that resulting from the correct and fair conduct of the aforementioned competition".
According to the investigation, the illicit agreement was signed on May 14, 2014 , three days before the Modena-Avellino match . Izzo , however, was acquitted of the charges of having committed similar crimes in connection with the Avellino-Reggina football match , played on May 25, 2014 (in the same championship).
