Naples - A cry of innocence and a plea for respect for the presumption of innocence. This is the speech of Fabio Cagnazzo, a Carabinieri colonel for whom the Salerno Prosecutor's Office has requested an indictment as part of the complex, decades-long investigation into the murder of Angelo Vassallo, the mayor of Pollica (Salerno), murdered in Acciaroli on the evening of September 5, 2010.
In an interview with Corriere del Mezzogiorno, Cagnazzo forcefully denied the charges, declaring, "I am innocent and I will prove it." The officer expressed disappointment over the media outcry, which, he claimed, had already convicted him: "To date, I haven't even been sent to trial, but it feels like we're hearing and reading definitive sentences against me." This treatment, according to the colonel, violates a fundamental principle of law: "I would like this principle [the presumption of innocence] to be respected for me too."
The long shadow of the investigation
The investigation, which has been ongoing for over a decade, has recently accelerated significantly, focusing on alleged drug trafficking, discovered by Mayor Vassallo as a possible motive for the crime. The Salerno Prosecutor's Office believes Vassallo was killed because he was preparing to report a large-scale drug dealing ring involving members of organized crime and, according to the prosecution, even Carabinieri officers.Carabinieri.
The charges against Cagnazzo (currently under trial along with others, including one of his associates and a former boss) concern not only involvement in drug trafficking but also alleged activities to obstruct the investigation immediately following the crime.
Suffering and the request for clarity
Cagnazzo made no secret of his anger over the painful affair, which saw him subjected to searches at his home and office and spent seven months in the military prison of Santa Maria Capua Vetere. This detention period ended with his release following a ruling by the Court of Cassation.
The colonel expressed his desire for the legal process to proceed as quickly as possible: he hopes "to be brought to trial so that this matter can be brought to a close in the appropriate place, the Court." An outcome, he concluded, that he hopes will bring justice "for me and for him [Angelo Vassallo]."
His position has been met with solidarity: just yesterday, in front of the Salerno courthouse, where the preliminary hearing was underway, countless people gathered to express their support for the officer.
The officer dramatically concluded his outburst with a bitter comparison: "It's like living in a fictional story in the shadow of Vesuvius." Justice now has the task of transforming this painful "fiction" into procedural truth.
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