Businessman Riccardo Lama, owner of the Kuadra cleaning company, was sentenced to thirteen years in prison on charges of mafia-style criminal conspiracy with the Lo Russo clan of Miano.
This is the ruling issued by the First Criminal Section of the Court of Naples (Council B, presided by Maria Armonia De Rosa), which brought to an end eight years of debate in the so-called "Kuadra" trial, which arose from the investigation into alleged Camorra infiltration in cleaning contracts at the Cardarelli Hospital in Naples.
The court ruled that the other defendants were inadmissible due to the statute of limitations for crimes against public administration, including corruption and bid-rigging.
The 2016 blitz
The operation that led to the arrests dates back to June 14, 2016, when the Naples Flying Squad and the Postal Police, on the orders of investigating judge Mario Morra, executed 12 precautionary custody orders.
The investigation, coordinated by Deputy Prosecutor Filippo Beatrice and Deputy Prosecutors Enrica Parascandolo and Henry John Woodcock, was based on wiretaps and environmental surveillance conducted at the Kuadra headquarters on Via Diocleziano in Fuorigrotta, as well as on the testimony of collaborators of justice. The investigation revealed that the Kuadra company, despite boasting prestigious clients throughout Italy, was allegedly used by the Lo Russo clan as a "financial hub" to pay the "monthly wages" to the families of its affiliates.
Those previously convicted
In 2019, the Court of Appeal of Naples (Section V) had already confirmed the convictions for the same incidents against the boss Vincenzo Lo Russo and Antonio Festa, who had each been sentenced to eight years in prison in the first instance.
Giulio De Angioletti, Giuseppe Lo Russo, Mario Lo Russo, and Francesco Orrù were also jailed in the 2016 raid, while Giuseppe Ariello, Pasquale Laudano, Luigi Solitario, Salvatore Quagliariello, and Gaetano Russo were placed under house arrest.
List of defendants and decisions
Sentenced:
Riccardo Lama: 13 years in prison for mafia-style criminal conspiracy
Vincenzo Lo Russo: 8 years (confirmed on appeal in 2019)
Antonio Festa: 8 years (confirmed on appeal in 2019)
Acquitted:
Massimo Alemagna, majority shareholder of the Kuadra company, was fully acquitted "for not having committed the crime."
Giuseppe Ariello: acquitted
Luigi Solitario: acquitted
Giuseppe Cadalt: acquitted
Prescribed (inadmissibility):
Gaetano Russo: Statute of limitations for crimes including corruption and bid-rigging
Salvatore Quagliariello: prescription
Dario Fornasa: prescription
The aggravating circumstance of mafia involvement has also been dropped for some of the charges. The sentencing reasons will be filed within ninety days.
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