The Court of Cassation issued the reasons for the sentence regarding the political-mafia vote-trading that occurred in Caserta before the 2015 regional elections.
The former deputy mayor of Caserta, Pasquale Corvino, approached the head of the Belforte clan, Agostino Capone, seeking his support to gain votes during the elections, aware of his criminal connection. Corvino offered bribes to both Capone and his close associate in exchange for votes.
This is just a part of the 72 pages of reasons for the sentence issued in November 2023 by the first criminal section of the Court of Cassation.
Pasquale Corvino was sentenced to 4 years and eight months in prison, while the former mayor of San Marcellino, Pasquale Carbone, was sentenced to 4 years and five months.
Agostino Capone, a member of the Belforte clan of Marcianise, was sentenced to 15 years, while his wife Maria Grazia Semonella was sentenced to six years in prison. For Antonio Zarrillo, brother-in-law of the clan leader Salvatore Belforte, the Court of Cassation ordered a referral for a new examination of the only crime of aggravated extortion.
Corvino and Carbone were arrested and taken to prison after the verdict. In another part of the trial, the convictions of other participants in the crime of political-mafia vote-trading had already been confirmed, including Giovanni Capone and three collaborators.
The affair caused a stir in Caserta, especially because of the involvement of Corvino, a well-known businessman and politician. The trials revealed that Corvino and Carbone provided money and other incentives to members of the Belforte clan in exchange for votes.
Furthermore, it emerged that Capone's company, Clean Service, had a quasi-monopolistic control over the posting of election posters in Caserta. Some candidates joined the trial as civil parties together with the Antonino Caponnetto association.
Article published on March 6, 2024 - 15pm
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