Court of Auditors: 75 investigated for fraudulent absenteeism in the Civil Engineering Department of Campania

Avellino – The Regional Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Auditors for Campania has issued 5 summonses to deduce against 75 individuals, including employees and a temporary manager, accused of damage to the treasury and image for illicit absenteeism during the period April-June 2018.

The investigation, coordinated by the Regional Prosecutor Antonio Giuseppone and the Deputy Prosecutor General Licia Centro, led to serious consequences both in criminal and disciplinary proceedings.

The charges: false stamps and hours of work never performed

The investigations, conducted by the Economic-Financial Police Unit of the Guardia di Finanza of Avellino, have ascertained an organized system of illegitimate absenteeism among the employees of the Civil Engineering Department of via Roma, a structure dependent on the General Directorate for the Government of the Territory of the Campania Region. The employees involved:

They falsified their attendance records by exchanging electronic badges;
They left their workplace without justification even though they were regularly on duty;
They received public salaries for hours they never actually worked.
The consequences: dismissals, suspensions and compensations

The investigations, started after a report to 117 of the Guardia di Finanza, used shadowing, covert video surveillance and document seizures, leading to:
37 dismissals for aggravated fraud and false declarations;
37 suspensions from 1 to 6 months;
Almost all cases resolved with “probation” in criminal proceedings;
Damage to the treasury quantified at 179.511,77 euros, between unduly received salaries and damage to the institution's image.

The manager's position: failure to supervise

Among those under investigation is also a former temporary manager, accused of failing to monitor staff attendance, thereby facilitating the fraudulent phenomenon.

The Court of Auditors' hard line

The action of the Public Prosecutor's Office is part of a broader strategy to combat economic crime, with the aim of protecting the Treasury and restoring legality in public administration.

"A strong signal against those who squander public money", investigative sources underline. Now we await the response of the suspects, who will have to justify their actions before the Court.