Gianluca Festa, 50, mayor of Avellino since June 2019, has seen his passion for basketball turn into a political boomerang. His love for basketball led him to pay 20 euros from his personal bank account to guarantee the registration of the city team, the historic Scandone club, in the Serie B championship, after the team went bankrupt at the time of the elections.
However, this move to save local basketball seems to have turned out to be a complicated decision. Festa is now at the center of an investigation together with the team's CEO, Gennaro Canonico, regarding alleged rigged tenders to the Municipality of Avellino. Among the crimes contested are corruption, criminal association, bid rigging and forgery of a public document.
The Carabinieri searched the mayor's residence and his office in Palazzo di Città, seizing electronic documents and cell phones. Festa is accused of abuse of office, bid-rigging, corruption and forgery. Some companies that won the contracts are suspected of having financially supported the basketball team.
In response to the accusations, the mayor called on the media, declaring: "If anyone thought they could conduct the upcoming election campaign with these arguments, they were wrong. We are good people and we will wait for the outcome of the investigations, which will lead to nothing." The municipality of Avellino has issued a press release confirming the execution of a search warrant against Mayor Festa. The search did not provide any evidence to support the accusations. However, the story could influence the local political context, considering that elections for the renewal of the municipal administration will be held in June.
Article published on March 7, 2024 - 16pm
