Naples, The case of the “L. Vanvitelli” school: caretaker’s accommodation occupied illegally since 1988, damage to the public purse of almost 93 thousand euros

Following an investigation carried out by the Operations Unit of the Carabinieri Company of Naples Vomero and coordinated by the Regional Prosecutor's Office for Campania at the Court of Auditors, several Directors of the Municipality of Naples, of the company Napoli Servizi and of the 36th State Educational District of Naples "L. Vanvitelli" were notified of an invitation to deduce, with which negligent conduct is contested that has caused financial damage for a total of €92.349,69. The contested facts concern the nursery and primary school "L. Vanvitelli - Caccavello building", located in a privately owned building and leased by the Municipality of Naples, inside which there is an accommodation intended for the caretaker of the building, now deceased for over ten years and unduly occupied by his heirs.

The investigations have made it possible to establish a culpable inertia of the public administration in undertaking the necessary initiatives aimed at freeing the accommodation which, due to its particular location, allows the "illegal" occupants access to the school premises at any time of the day or night, with obvious negative repercussions on the safety of young schoolchildren, as well as the indiscriminate use of the water supply that serves the institute. The occupation of these premises has also caused damage to the educational offer, given the impossibility of reusing them to meet the need for classrooms.

The evidence collected also revealed that a large portion of the compensation credit claimed by the local authority against the illegal occupants, already requested in a significantly underestimated amount compared to the market value of the property, was decimated by the statute of limitations due to conduct attributable to various Directors of the Municipality of Naples and of Napoli Servizi spa, the latter company responsible for the correct issuing of payment notices. The invitation to deduce from the Accounting Magistrates' Office highlights the seriousness of the matter in light of the already disastrous municipal finances, which recently received significant state funding with the so-called "Pact for Naples".

Which is conditioned, among other things, precisely by the correct management of the real estate assets and the disposal of "passive rents" by the local authority: it has in fact emerged that the arrears in the user relationships of the assets of the Municipality of Naples has reached the dizzying figure of over 133 million euros and important discrepancies have also emerged in the billing activity towards the occupants.In the case of the “Caccavello” complex, it is currently impossible to cancel the passive rent due to the presence of illegal occupants within the property.Further investigations are currently underway to examine any potential liability in relation to the illegal occupation of other “former caretaker” accommodation in schools and public buildings in Municipality 5, a problem that has recently hit the headlines.