Sorrento – A disgrace, a shame that takes Sorrento back to the days of Tangentopoli: late yesterday evening, the mayor, Massimo Coppola, was arrested by the Torre Annunziata Financial Police as part of an operation coordinated by the Oplonti Public Prosecutor's Office.
Francesco Di Maio, a collaborator and member of the mayor's personal staff, was also arrested along with him.
The arrest occurred in flagrante delicto for the crime of undue inducement to give or promise benefits (article 319-quater of the Penal Code), a crime that falls somewhere between corruption and extortion.
The two were caught in the act of receiving 6.000 euros in cash from a local businessman. The money, according to what emerged from the investigations, would have been a tranche of a much larger sum, equal to a total of 120.000 euros, agreed in relation to the contract for school canteen services 2023-2026, awarded to the businessman by the Municipality of Sorrento for a starting auction value of over 4,5 million euros.
The dinner trap and the seized money
The arrest took place in a restaurant in Sorrento, during a dinner specially organized for the delivery of the money. At the time of the arrest, the financial police found the sum just delivered: 4.500 euros on Mayor Coppola and 1.500 euros on Di Maio.
The investigations revealed that, in exchange for the contract for the canteen, the entrepreneur had already paid the Mayor, directly or through Di Maio, the total sum of 66.000 euros.
But it doesn't end there: the same entrepreneur had already paid, previously and in different solutions, another 50.000 euros in cash to Coppola and Di Maio. This additional donation was linked to the awarding of another municipal contract, the one for the optimization and improvement of the municipal nursery school for the three-year school period 2022-2025.
Searches and seizures: over 285 thousand euros in cash
The arrest of the mayor is only the tip of the iceberg of a more complex investigation conducted by the Guardia di Finanza Company of Massa Lubrense. At the same time as the arrest, the Fiamme Gialle, with the help of canine “cash dog” units, executed a search warrant for homes, premises and computers against 22 individuals.
There are 22 people under investigation: there is also the psychic Raffaele Guida
Among them are other employees and officials of the Municipality of Sorrento, entrepreneurs who were awarded contracts and a "psychic", Raffaele Guida, from Santa Maria a Vico, considered a trustee and contact person of the Mayor in illicit relationships with entrepreneurs. These individuals are investigated for corruption, bid-rigging and embezzlement.
The searches led to the seizure of documents of investigative interest, smartphones, PCs and tablets. In addition, additional sums of cash were found for a total amount of over 285.000 euros. Of these, over 34.000 euros were found in the Mayor's home and over 167.000 euros in the home of the "psychic" Guida, hidden in a recess in a billiard table.
It emerged that already on December 28, 2024, Mayor Coppola had been checked by the Guardia di Finanza in Santa Maria a Vico, after a meeting with Guida, and found in possession of 15.000 euros in cash, hidden in a panettone package.
That sum, too, according to investigators, was attributable to undue payments from entrepreneurs for municipal contracts. Curiously, that sum had initially been seized but later released and returned to the Mayor by the Review Court.
Today's operation casts a heavy shadow over the municipal administration of Sorrento and the management of public procurement.
In short
Sorrento – A disgrace, a shame that takes Sorrento back to the days of Tangentopoli: late yesterday evening, the mayor, Massimo Coppola, was arrested by the Guardia di Finanza…
- Francesco Di Maio, a collaborator and member of the mayor's personal staff, was also arrested along with him.
- The arrest occurred in flagrante delicto for the crime of undue inducement to give or promise benefits (Article 319-quater of the Criminal Code),…
- The two were caught in the act of receiving 6.000 euros in cash from a local businessman.
Key questions
What is the main point of the news?
Sorrento – A disgrace, a shame that takes Sorrento back to the days of Tangentopoli: late yesterday evening, the mayor, Massimo Coppola, was arrested…
Why is this news relevant?
Francesco Di Maio, a collaborator and member of the mayor's personal staff, was also arrested along with him.
Which detail helps us understand the case better?
The arrest occurred in flagrante delicto for the crime of undue inducement to give or promise benefits (Article 319-quater of the Criminal Code), a crime that…
this article clearly shows how corruption is a serious problem in Sorrento. it is unacceptable that the mayor was arrested for these crimes, there should be more controls on public procurement and politicians.