Asbestos War: Financier Claudio Apicella Dies

Castellammare di Stabia – A decade-long battle against asbestos and a historic victory at the Council of State for damages: this is what financier Claudio Apicella, who died at the age of 78, will be remembered for. He had long lived in Grosseto, Tuscany, but was originally from Castellammare di Stabia.

A ten-year battle for recognition as a victim of duty

Apicella won the legal battle against asbestos, but not the disease he had suffered from for years due to exposure to asbestos fibers. Having joined the Guardia di Finanza, he had worked aboard the force's naval vessels. Those exposures had caused him to develop asbestos and pleural plaques. He thus began a long battle to obtain compensation for his work-related illness.

A battle not only for himself but for all his law enforcement colleagues who have become ill due to asbestos exposure. In recent years, Marshal Apicella had achieved two historic victories, being recognized as a victim of duty and receiving fair compensation.

Ezio Bonanni recalls the struggle of the Finance Marshal who changed jurisprudence

Ezio Bonanni, president of the National Asbestos Observatory, remembered him in a statement: "He served the state with honor, paying the price of duty with his health. We will continue to stand by his family."

Apicella passed away after a long illness related to asbestos exposure contracted during his service. He fought against it until the very end, Bonanni recalls, "with the same determination he had shown while serving the State in uniform." "His was not just a personal struggle," Bonanni emphasizes. "For over a decade, he waged a legal battle, supported by me and the observatory, obtaining significant recognition, culminating in the recent ruling by the Council of State that strengthened the path to full compensation for damages.

This ruling also represents a significant step forward for many other members of the Armed Forces and State Corps who have contracted diseases related to asbestos exposure while on duty. Claudio, however, did not live to see the end of the battle he had waged.

"He never fought only for himself," Bonanni concludes. "Behind every victory was the hope that no one else would have to face the same journey of loneliness, suffering, and waiting. This is the most important legacy he has left us, and we will continue to honor it, standing by his family and continuing, with even greater determination, the fight for the protection of all asbestos victims."

This afternoon the funeral will be held in Grosseto, where Marshal Apicella lived for years.