Catanzaro, “Gettonopoli” ends with a stalemate: statute of limitations for all the accused

Statute of limitations for all charges. Thus ends the trial against former and current Catanzaro city councilors involved in the “Gettonopoli” investigation, which concerns the previous council, on the alleged offenses in certifying participation in meetings of council commissions for the purpose of collecting the related compensation despite not being present. According to the accusation, the presidents and vice-presidents of the permanent council commissions of the Municipality would have falsely certified, in the meeting minutes of the bodies, their participation in numerous sessions when, in reality, such participation would not have occurred or would have occurred in a temporary and intermittent manner. Thanks to the false minutes, the defendants were accused of having misled the Municipality of Catanzaro (hence the charge of the crime of fraud), obtaining the unfair profit of the payment, in their favor, by the body, of the so-called “attendance fees” for their participation in the meetings. The investigation also concerned the alleged fictitious hirings agreed between the directors themselves, who were made to appear as employees, and some companies with the aim of obtaining reimbursements to cover absences for institutional reasons. Today the Court’s decision declared the statute of limitations to have expired. Statement from the lawyers Antonio Lomonaco and Fabrizio Costarella: “We take note of the intervening statute of limitations. We remain sorry that we were unable to obtain a ruling on the merits, in the firm belief that we would have demonstrated any non-involvement in relation to the charges raised”.