The Locri Finance Police have arrested and placed under house arrest a deputy commissioner, director of the Brancaleone detachment of the traffic police, on charges of corruption, extortion and forgery of public documents.
The arrest was made in execution of a precautionary custody order issued by the Locri investigating judge at the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Twenty other people not belonging to the traffic police are being investigated in the investigation in which the non-commissioned officer was involved.
According to what the Locri Prosecutor’s Office reports in a note, the arrest of the deputy commissioner “represents the outcome of a complex investigative activity which was developed through telephone and electronic interception and multiple documentary acquisitions”.
The report of a haulier to the Palmi section of the traffic police
The investigation began with the report by a lorry driver to the Palmi section of the traffic police of an undue payment of money delivered to the deputy commissioner who was arrested. It was thus ascertained, on the basis of the current and provisional investigative findings, in terms of circumstantial gravity, that the public official, abusing his qualification and role as manager of the Brancaleone detachment of the traffic police, systematically violated his official duties, inducing, among other things, the owners of some road haulage companies to promise him sums of money in exchange for undue favours, including the possibility for drivers to continue driving despite the withdrawal of their licence, also making use of the indications given by him provided on methods to evade any roadside checks”.
Again according to what is said in the note from the Prosecutor’s Office, “it was ascertained, again in terms of circumstantial gravity, that the suspect communicated in advance the duty shifts of other police officers, omitted the insertion of license withdrawal reports in the database used by the police and, on several occasions, presented to controlled subjects the possibility of avoiding sanctions, deductions of points and restrictive measures through the direct payment of sums of money in cash”.