The trial ended with a flurry of acquittals, which saw four Lametini accused in various capacities of attempted extortion, damage, receiving stolen goods and carrying firearms in public places, crimes all contested with the aggravating circumstance of the mafia method.
The Court of Lamezia Terme (President Angelina Silvestri, alongside Brigida Candela and Martina Gallucci) today pronounced the acquittal sentence against:
Nino Cerra (defended by the lawyer Aldo Ferraro) and Angelo Francesco Paradiso (defended by the lawyer Antonio Larussa), for whom the judges decreed acquittal with the formula “because the fact does not exist” regarding the charges of damage and weapons crimes.
Davide Giampà (defended by the lawyer Osvaldo Rocca) and Saverio Giampà (defended by the lawyer Renzo Andricciola), acquitted “for not having committed the crime” on the charge of attempted aggravated extortion.
The affair and the collapse of the prosecution
At the center of the criminal proceedings were the alleged pressure and intimidation suffered by a tire dealer from Lamezia Terme. According to the initial accusatory hypothesis, the first two defendants would have been responsible for the damage and possession of weapons, while the two Giampà brothers for the attempted extortion on behalf of the local cliques.
The verdict of total acquittal, however, was widely anticipated by the conclusions of the Public Prosecutor of the District Anti-Mafia Directorate of Catanzaro, Giuseppe Cozzolino. During the last hearing, in fact, the Prosecutor had noted that the preliminary investigation had failed to demonstrate the criminal responsibility of the four defendants, thus requesting their acquittal.
A line, that of the insufficiency of evidence, also espoused and forcefully underlined by the defenders Ferraro and Larussa. In their arguments, the lawyers highlighted the existence of irreconcilable contradictions in the statements made by the collaborators of justice, deemed unsuitable to support the accusatory system and to demonstrate the guilt of the clients, thus leading the Court to today’s sentence of acquittal.