NNaples – Raffaele Guida, known as "Lello the Psychic," a well-known figure on local Campania television for his fortune-telling programs and believed by investigators to be the alter ego of the former mayor of Sorrento, Massimo Coppola, is back in prison.
È back in prison along with six others under investigation in the investigation into municipal procurement, which last year led to the arrest of the former mayor.
The new precautionary custody order was issued by the Torre Annunziata investigating judge after the Review Court overturned the previously ordered measures at the end of July.
The Oplonti prosecutor's office resubmitted the request, first questioning the eight suspects. The judge deemed seven of them at risk of reoffending, but rejected the measure for the eighth.
This morning, the Torre Annunziata Group's financial police carried out the measures. In addition to Guida, municipal technician Michele Rescigno was also arrested.
Entrepreneurs Luigi Todisco, Mario Parlato, Raffaele Guarino, and Alessandro Di Domenico were placed under house arrest. Luigi Desiderio, a member of the awarding committees, was suspended from all public office for one year.
The charges, to varying degrees, include corruption for acts contrary to official duties, incitement to corruption, and bid-rigging, in relation to a series of public contracts awarded by the Municipality of Sorrento between 2022 and 2024.
According to the investigating judge, the investigation revealed "a well-established criminal network" led by former mayor Coppola and Guida himself, who allegedly set up a conspiracy intended to generate "an undetermined number of crimes against public administration."
The so-called "Sorrento system”, the investigators explain, was based on corrupt mechanisms that forced entrepreneurs to pay to enter the credit network.
The judge emphasized that the duo had two objectives: "to promote the proliferation of the Municipality's public initiatives and to derive significant illicit benefits from each of them." These actions were deemed "extremely serious" both for the systematic subversion of public functions to private interests and for the damage caused to the proper functioning of the administration.
The investigating judge finally justified the new precautionary measure with the "concrete and present danger of repeated criminal activity," highlighting that the organization that emerged from the investigations "has only been minimally revealed."
Article published by Rosaria Federico on August 19, 2025, at 10:19 PM
Comments (1)
This article discusses a complicated and serious situation involving Raffaele Guida. It is important that there be a fair trial for everyone. The charges are serious and must be examined carefully and without prejudice.