Torre Annunziata – The Guardia di Finanza has notified four notices of conclusion of preliminary investigations against three municipal councilors and a former assessor of the Municipality of Torre Annunziata.
Article Key Points
The defendants are accused of making false statements to a public official regarding their identity or personal qualities (art. 495 of the Criminal Code and art. 76 of Presidential Decree 445/2000).
False statements about debt situation
The investigations, conducted by the Guardia di Finanza of Torre Annunziata and coordinated by the Public Prosecutor's Office, revealed that, between July and August 2024, the four suspects allegedly presented to the Municipality's Head of Corruption Prevention and Transparency a self-certification falsely certifying that they had no debts towards the institution.
Who are the suspects?
The suspects are theformer councilor Gianfranco Scafa – who resigned last November – and Councilors Raffaella Celone, Maria Di Maio and Raffaele De Stefano, the latter of opposition. All now risk ending up on trial and will be able to defend themselves from the charges contested against them.
According to the Consolidated Law on the Organization of Local Authorities (Legislative Decree 267/2000), in order to hold public office, councilors and assessors must be up to date with the payment of local taxes, fees and duties.
However, the checks carried out by the investigators revealed that the four administrators were in debt to the Municipality for over 36.000 euros, relating to the failure to pay IMU, TARI-TARES and TARSU for the years from 2007 to 2020.
Investigations ongoing
One of the four suspects, the former councilor, subsequently resigned from his position. The investigation continues to ascertain any further irregularities and establish the responsibilities of the suspects, who – it is specified – are to be considered innocent until a final sentence is reached.
Article published on March 31, 2025 - 15pm
