There was no corrupt pact between the former guarantor of prisoners in the province of Caserta, Emanuela Belcuore, and the inmate of the Santa Maria Capua Vetere prison, Mario Borrata.
Despite the guarantor's attentions and his good offices with the institute's management, the gifts received by Belcuore through Borrata's sister, Sara, owner of a clothing store in Casal di Principe, do not represent the price of corruption.
According to the Court of Appeal of Naples, the gifts were simple presents due to the personal relationship between the guarantor and Borrata.
The Court of Appeal overturned the corruption charge contained in the precautionary custody order issued on May 20 by the preliminary investigations judge of the Santa Maria Capua Vetere court against Mario and Sara Borrata.
Mario Borrata, previously detained for a Camorra-related murder, had been placed under a prison sentence, while his sister Sara had been placed under house arrest. However, the restrictive measure was not completely lifted, as the charge of receiving stolen goods (a cell phone that Borrata allegedly used in prison) remains in effect.
The preliminary hearing judges accepted the argument of the Borrata brothers' lawyer, Angelo Raucci, who demonstrated, through telephone conversations, that the gifts received from Belcuore—Gucci shoes, clothes, and money—were not related to the alleged favors that, according to the Santa Maria Capua Vetere Prosecutor's Office, the former guarantor had granted to Borrata.
Instead, they were love gifts. On this corruption charge, Belcuore, who was also charged with disclosing official secrets, pleaded guilty last December to a suspended sentence of one year and ten months in prison.
The former guarantor had explained that the choice to plead guilty had been made "reluctantly, for mere reasons of opportunity and defensive strategy" and especially "to turn the page and be able to continue their professional activity, without the looming threat of a long, burdensome and costly legal process."
During questioning by prosecutors, before the plea bargain, the former guarantor had always maintained that the gifts he received from Borrata were for sentimental reasons.
The Public Prosecutor's Office of Santa Maria Capua Vetere instead claimed that Belcuore had held telephone conversations with Borrata, who was using the cell phone illegally brought into prison, warning him of the searches and working to ensure that the prisoner had a positive service report, without however obtaining concrete results.
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