In the next few days, the appeal against the first instance sentence issued by the court of Napoli North, which sentenced police officer Oscar Vesevo to six years and two months in prison for the crime of embezzlement.
The charge concerns his alleged unlawful possession of a pen drive during the arrest of Michele Zagaria, head of the Casale, in the bunker-villa on via Mascagni in Casapesenna.
Vesevo was also convicted of two frauds, but it is expected that these crimes will be declared time-barred on appeal, given that more than seven and a half years have passed since the events. The main conviction is based on the accusation of embezzlement, although the judges excluded the mafia aggravation.
According to the accusation of the District Anti-Mafia Directorate of Napoli, Vesevo allegedly took possession of the pen drive containing the boss's secrets with the intention of selling it to pay gambling-related debts. However, during the trial it emerged that the pen drive contained only songs and was probably the daughter of Zagaria's supporters.
Vesevo's defense attorney, Giovanni Cantelli, will focus on the testimony of Zagaria's wife, Rosaria Massa, and the legal qualification of the crime of embezzlement. Cantelli will ask the judges to downgrade embezzlement to theft, a circumstance that would cause the crime to expire, citing the decision of the Naples Review Court that had suggested that it was more theft than embezzlement.
The defense will also try to demonstrate the unreliability of Massa, who had reasons for resentment towards Vesevo, considered the main investigator in the arrest of Zagaria, an operation that also led to the arrest of Massa and her husband. Extenuating circumstances will be requested and the sentence of six years and two months will be contested as excessive compared to the original request of the prosecutor, which was six years and four months for all aggravated crimes.
Article published on 12 October 2023 - 14:47
