New judicial developments in the investigation into the murder of Angelo Vassallo, the mayor of Pollica assassinated in 2010.
The Court of Cassation, with a provision that will have an impact on the future of the investigation, has sent the case back to the Review Court of Salerno, requesting further investigation into an alleged diversionary strategy implemented by members of the Carabinieri.
The former officer remains in the crosshairs Fabio Cagnazzo and the former brigadier Lazarus Cioffi, for which there are strong uncertainties regarding the validity of the accusations.
The Supreme Court urges the Review Court to clarify whether there was a “preventive agreement” aimed at contaminating the investigations and, above all, what are the concrete elements that would demonstrate a strengthening of the criminal plan by third parties.
Doubts, therefore, on the accusatory system built up to now by the Salerno Prosecutor's Office, which has hypothesized an orchestrated diversion plan to direct attention on Bruno Humberto Damiani, for years the only suspect in the Vassallo case.
One of the crucial points concerns the statements made by Eugenio D'Atri, considered by Cagnazzo's lawyer to be unusable because they were acquired before the formal reopening of the investigation. The Court of Cassation does not exclude this possibility and asks the Salerno judges to verify the legitimacy of those testimonies.
Another weakness reported concerns the reliability of the former collaborator of justice Romulus Ridosso, whose statements are a central part of the accusatory framework. The same caution is applied to Cioffi's position, who according to the Court of Cassation was not in Acciaroli on the day of the murder.
The judges also consider the statements of Peter Field, the victim's nephew, according to whom he had seen the brigadier near the mayor's house shortly before the crime. Campo, according to the judges, could have been influenced by a television program about the case.
Despite the doubts that emerged during the legitimacy stage, the Salerno Public Prosecutor's Office continues to focus on the active role of Bitch e Cioffi in an attempt to divert the investigation. Ten alleged episodes of misdirection highlighted by the prosecutors: among these, an inspection in Acciaroli to verify the presence of cameras, the illicit acquisition of footage, falsified information, and even the beating of Pierluca Cillo, a friend of the mayor, believed to be the custodian of sensitive information.
According to the prosecution, Vassallo had expressed doubts and suspicions about alleged links between Cagnazzo, the entrepreneur Domenico Palladino (owner of the structure “The Three Palms” where the officer stayed during his vacations) and some illicit drug trafficking. He wanted to report them, but he didn't trust the local police. According to the Prosecutor's Office, these suspicions were the reason for the decision to eliminate him.
The murder, according to the investigators' reconstruction, would have been planned in detail, including a second inspection near Vassallo's home at the end of August, carried out with the car that would have been noticed by a relative of the victim. Testimony, however, considered fragile by the Cassation.
The real weak point remains the identification of the material perpetrator. Who pulled the trigger? To this question the Salerno Prosecutor's Office, led by Chief Prosecutor Giuseppe Borrelli and prosecutors Guarino and Cioncada, is still trying to give a certain answer. In the meantime, the investigative thread on the alleged witnesses who allegedly saw Damiani throw a gun into the sea remains open: a weapon never found, but which according to scientific tests could have been a 9mm caliber, compatible with the one used to kill the fisherman mayor.
Now we await the new hearing before the Review Court of Salerno, called to resolve the numerous questions posed by the Supreme Court. A decisive step for the future of the investigation, which after more than thirteen years continues to seek justice.
(in the photo from left the repentant Eugenio D'Atri, Fabio Cagnazzo and Lazzaro Cioffi)
Article published on May 11, 2025 - 10:30 pm
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It is interesting to see how the investigations on this case are so complicated and there are many doubts. The Court of Cassation seems to be doing a good job, but there are still many things that are not clear. Let's hope that justice is finally done.