Clashes in Pianura: Former regional councilor Marco Nonno convicted on appeal

Nearly twenty years after the days of urban guerrilla warfare that paralyzed the western suburbs of Naples, a new judicial turn has been recorded in the protests against the reopening of the landfill in Contrada Pisani. The magistrates of the Naples Court of Appeal (Second Criminal Section, presided over by Judge Valentini) have sentenced Marco Nonno, former city and regional councilor and current city coordinator of the Brothers of Italy party, to five years and four months in prison.

The recalculation of the sentence

The Naples court found the politician responsible for the crime of devastation, sentencing him to three years and four months in prison. This sentence was added to the two years previously imposed for resisting a public official, bringing the overall sentence to five years and four months.

The ruling comes at the end of a particularly complex legal process. In May 2014, following the first-instance hearing, Nonno—who was a member of the National Alliance parliamentary chamber at the time of the events—was sentenced by the court to eight years and six months in prison.

Subsequently, the Fourth Section of the Court of Appeal reversed the sentence, acquitting the defendant of the main charge of devastation and upholding only the two-year suspended sentence for resisting arrest. That acquittal, however, was appealed and then overturned with a referral back to the Supreme Court, thus bringing the case before a new lower court, which again reversed the outcome.

The guerrilla warfare of the Pisani district

The events date back to the early months of 2008, at the height of the metropolitan waste emergency, when the Pianura neighborhood became the epicenter of violent riots to oppose the reactivation of the dump in the Pisani district, a facility that had already operated for forty-two years.

The demonstrations quickly degenerated into systematic roadblocks, the burning of public transport and water tankers, culminating in all-out clashes with police forces. During the investigation by the Naples Public Prosecutor's Office—which led to the indictment of eighteen suspects and was marked by the tragic death of councilor Giorgio Nugnes—investigators hypothesized a convergence between political circles, ultras fan factions, and individuals linked to local businesses and illegal construction, driven by fears of a devaluation of the surrounding real estate.

The defense's reply and the appeal

The defense team's position was clear at the end of the hearing. "The ruling comes a full eighteen years after the alleged events," stated Sergio Cola, Nonno's trusted defense attorney, "despite the significant testimony given during the trial by institutional representatives, including former mayor Rosa Russo Iervolino, as well as journalists and law enforcement officials. We will undoubtedly appeal to the Supreme Court as soon as the reasons are filed."

With the appeal announced by the defense, the criminal case is now preparing for its third appearance before the Supreme Court in Piazza Cavour.