Palermo's preliminary investigations judge, Claudia Rosini, has completely rejected the request for a precautionary measure against Carlo Palmieri, vice president of the Naples Industrialists' Union, who is under investigation by the European Public Prosecutor's Office for bid-rigging as part of an investigation into the management of EU funds earmarked for education.
In his ruling, the investigating judge found no evidence of guilt against the Neapolitan manager. According to the defense, the judge had therefore "definitively dismissed the entire accusation" against him.
The objection of territorial incompetence was upheld
The judge also upheld the objection of territorial jurisdiction raised by Palmieri's lawyers. Consequently, the Palermo Court forwarded the case to the Naples Public Prosecutor's Office, which will now assess the entrepreneur's position.
The order came just days after notification of the preliminary hearing ordered by the Palermo court.
The satisfaction of the defense
"The judge, in light of the extensive statements made by my client and sharing the defense's argument, deemed the evidence of guilt to be completely unfounded," stated Palmieri's lawyer Marco Campora.
The defense attorney expressed "great satisfaction" with the decision, emphasizing that "Palmieri's conduct was absolutely correct and he was completely innocent of the matter." According to Campora, the manager's case could be dismissed quickly.
The investigation into European funds for education
The investigation by the European Public Prosecutor's Office, launched in Palermo three years ago, concerns alleged irregularities in the management of EU funds allocated to the education sector.
The investigation – which formally dates back to February 24 – involves university professors, researchers from leading institutions such as the National Research Council (CNR), and high school teachers.
The investigation began with the arrest of a school principal from Palermo's Zen district, accused of stealing money intended for school meals and forcing the school to purchase computers and tablets from an IT company, R-Sore, in exchange for state-of-the-art cell phones and other gifts for herself and her family.
It seems strange but neutral to me: the Palermo judge deemed that there was no evidence against Palmieri, and therefore sent the documents to Naples, but the situation remains open, we will have to wait for the Naples Prosecutor's Office to carry out checks, without making too many proclamations.