Major investigation into bribes for public contracts: 11 people under investigation in Caserta and Naples

NApoli– A well-oiled corruption network spanning three municipalities between Caserta and Naples, involving bribes in exchange for contracts and illicit favors. This is what emerges from the investigation by the Santa Maria Capua Vetere Public Prosecutor's Office, which led to the investigation of 11 people, including a multi-role public official and several businessmen.

The “super-manager” at the center of the system

At the centre of the investigation is Filippo Virno, 53 years old, responsible for the technical area of ​​the Municipality of Teverola (Caserta) and for the public works sector in San Tammaro (Caserta) and Camposano (Naples), where he also serves as head of the Ecology department. According to investigators, Virno allegedly received money and favors from a group of businessmen in exchange for winning public contracts.

Among the illicit benefits discovered: the hiring of his sister Fabiola (also under investigation) in a waste collection company that had won a contract in Teverola and also 8.000 euros in cash found during a search of his sister's house, believed to be the result of bribes.

The other suspects: entrepreneurs and an official

The list of suspects also includes Raffaele De Rosa, a current Caserta City Council official and brother of former Provincial President Marcello De Rosa; Antonio Giardino and Tommaso Mauriello, businessmen already implicated in another corruption investigation related to highway construction.

The searches and the contested crimes

The Caserta Carabinieri, acting on a warrant from the Prosecutor's Office (Prosecutor Pierpaolo Bruni, Deputy Prosecutor Giacomo Urbano and Armando Bosso), executed search warrants at the municipal offices and the homes of the suspects. The alleged crimes range from corruption to forgery, with a common thread linking public procurement, rigged hiring, and favor-trading.

Some of the entrepreneurs involved had already been targeted by the Prosecutor's Office for another round of bribes, this time in the highway construction sector. This detail suggests a consolidated modus operandi involving contracts and bribes.

Investigators are now working to reconstruct the entire illicit network, while local politicians are questioning the extent of this system. One question remains: how many other contracts were rigged in exchange for money and favors?