The last hearing was held before the Court of Appeal of Naples for: Slavatore Piscitelli, 60 years old, from San Felice a Cancello and resident in Cervinara, Francesco Iannone, 52 years old, from Arienzo, Veronica Morgillo, 37 years old, from Arienzo, all defended by the lawyer Vittorio Fucci, as part of the trial of the Piscitelli clan, alias “I Cervinari”.
The trial, as you may remember, arose from the major operation of the DDA which led to the arrest of 39 people, believed to belong to a criminal organisation aimed at international drug trafficking. drug, based in the lower Caserta area and in Valle Caudina.
The Naples District Anti-Mafia Prosecutor's Office had requested the following sentences for the 3 defendants in the first instance:
1) 13 years in prison for Salvatore Piscitelli, alias “O' Cervinar” (also known as Salvatore O' Slav), considered by the Anti-Mafia Prosecutor's Office to be the narcos who managed drug trafficking between the Cervinari and Caudini clans. Salvatore Piscitelli is also the brother of the well-known boss Raffaele Piscitelli, a fugitive until a few months ago when his arrest made national headlines, and of Filippo Piscitelli, the organization's chief promoter.
2) 14 years in prison for Francesco Iannone, alias “Pippetto”, considered one of the leaders of the criminal organization aimed at drug trafficking,
3) 10 years in prison for Veronica Morgillo, alias “A Ross”, Francesco Iannone's partner, considered, together with her partner, a leading member of the criminal association.
Lawyer Vittorio Fucci, following the requests of the Anti-Mafia Prosecutor's Office, represented the defense thesis of the 3 defendants in a long 2-hour discussion.
The GUP Discepolo then issued the sentence and in particular:
1) He acquitted and released Salvatore Piscitelli on one charge, accepting the arguments of the lawyer Vittorio Fucci, sentencing him to only 9 years, compared to the 13 years requested by the Anti-Mafia.
2) He almost halved the sentence for Francesco Iannone compared to the request of the Antimafia, accepting the arguments of the lawyer Vittorio Fucci. 8 years, compared to the 14 years requested by the DDA.
3) He significantly reduced Veronica Morgillo's sentence compared to the DDA's request, partly accepting the arguments of the lawyer Vittorio Fucci. 7 years and 5 months, compared to the 10 requested.
Today the Court of Appeal, at the request of the lawyer Vittorio Fucci, reformed the first instance sentence and in particular:
1) Reduced Salvatore Piscitelli's sentence to 8 years (compared to the 13 initially requested by the DDA)
2) Reduced Veronica Morgillo's sentence to 5 years (compared to the 10 initially requested by the DDA)
3) It further reduced Francesco Iannone's sentence (while maintaining the very large reduction in the first instance compared to the DDA's request to sentence him to 14 years) to 8 and 4 months, despite the fact that Iannone was burdened by a specific recidivism within five years which can determine an increase in sentence of up to 2/3.
The further reduction represents an important result given that the three, unlike several of their co-defendants, have had the notable reductions indicated above without making any agreement (therefore without admitting any responsibility for the facts contested to them), leaving the doors open to an appeal to the Supreme Court.
Furthermore, the three defendants, in compliance with the defense's requests, were released from prison a few years ago and placed under house arrest, with the possibility for several of them not to return to prison at all (given the suffering they had previously suffered outside of prison).
Despite this further important result, the defense has already announced that it will appeal to the Supreme Court.
Article published on 11 December 2024 - 20:13
