Pomigliano, public lighting in private courtyards: four municipal officials under investigation

Pomigliano – Treasury losses estimated at over €60 and a perceived inefficient management of public resources. This is the core of the summons served by the Regional Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Auditors for Campania, led by Prosecutor Antonio Giuseppone, against four officials of the Municipality of Pomigliano d'Arco, in the province of Naples.

According to the investigations conducted by the Casalnuovo di Napoli Financial Police, coordinated by Deputy Public Prosecutor Raffaele Cangiano, for years municipal street lighting powered as many as 326 street lamps installed in the courtyards of private homes. These systems, therefore, were located in areas not open to the public and not intended for traffic or collective use, but were nevertheless supported by municipal funds for both electricity and maintenance.

A direct benefit for private individuals and a constant cost to the local authority's coffers, which continued uninterrupted until the first months of 2024. Only following the initiative of the Public Accounting Prosecutor's Office and the investigations of the Guardia di Finanza did the municipal company responsible for the service begin the gradual deactivation of the disputed systems, putting an end to a practice deemed irregular.

The investigations also revealed that the decision to power systems serving enclosed courtyards at the public expense dates back to the 1980s. This decision has never been formally reviewed or corrected over the decades, despite—as investigators confirmed—the issue having been reported to local officials in recent years by a citizen.

The financial damage was calculated considering the two-year period 2022-2023, the period under investigation. Based on estimates, the streetlights provided a total of over 8.200 hours of artificial lighting, with an average hourly energy cost of 7 euros.

The parameter was derived from the average purchase bands of the PUN, the Single National Electricity Price expressed in euros per megawatt-hour. Hence the final quantification: €62.822 of expenditure deemed unjustified and harmful to the public treasury.

Now it will be up to the Court of Auditors to assess the liability of the officials involved and determine whether and to what extent the damages should be compensated. This case refocuses attention on the management of local public services and the oversight of the use of community resources.