They are burdened by the investigative hypothesis of having used the Municipality of Savelli as an ATM. Why? From 2013 until 2023, from the institution's Treasury, they allegedly contributed to the initiation of over 300 payment orders addressed to their current accounts and to the companies attributable to them to the point of causing a shortfall of 2,830,404.05 euros to municipal coffers.
The three people who yesterday had their movable and immovable assets seized preventively by the Carabinieri on the orders of the public prosecutor of the Crotone Prosecutor's Office must answer for this. Rosaria Multari. They ended up under accusation Michele Giudicissi, former manager of the Financial, Accounting and Taxes sector of the Municipality of Savelli, Olga Caputoformer employee of the institution, e Giovanna Panaja, who are charged, for various reasons, with the crimes of embezzlement, ideological and material falsehood and self-laundering.
The seals were issued for a company in Milan, a restaurant in Florence, as well as on land and homes located in the province of Crotone. The investigations began in November 2023, when the mayor and the general secretary of the Municipality of Savelli reported to the investigators a “hole” in the budget of around one million euros. This was enough for the Crotone Army soldiers to start investigations under the coordination of prosecutor Multari. And from the checks carried out, hundreds of alleged false payment orders emerged, amounting to around 3 million euros, which the body issued to the suspects, without the latter having ever provided any service to the Municipality of Savelli.
The alleged crimes were committed continuously to the detriment of the Municipality of Savelli, from 2013 to 2023. The investigations, still ongoing, ascertained the diversion, repeated over time, of public money for a total amount of 2,830,404.05 Euros, diversion consumed through the training and issuing of payment orders by the suspects false (currently 320 false payment orders), with which public money was credited to the personal bank accounts of the suspects or of companies attributable to them, instead of being allocated to the payment of the Municipality's public expenses (such as those of the utilities of the ENEL or others and the services rendered to the organization, and to which the public money was intended).
One of the suspects then reused part of the stolen public money in a bar in Florence, thus committing the crime of self-laundering..
In particular, in execution of the provision issued by the Crotone Prosecutor's Office, 2 (two) lands and 4 (four) homes, belonging or attributable to the suspects, were seized in advance, as well as valuable goods (such as jewels and sums of cash found from the suspects), while, in Milan and Florence, a company (located in via Montenapoleone, in the Meneghino Centre), attributable to 2 (two) suspects and into whose account part of the proceeds of the embezzlement crimes were passed, and the Bar, located inside the Santa Maria Novella railway station, the proceeds of the self-laundering crime. Finally, in Modena, a Search Decree was executed with the simultaneous seizure of evidentiary documentation at the offices of an associated accounting firm.
The investigations, still ongoing, conducted by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Crotone with the Investigative Unit of the Carabinieri of Crotone and the NORM of Cirò Marina, have so far led to the seizure of: cash (amounting to approximately 18,000 euros and 1,300 US dollars), jewels and precious items (including some very valuable watches from the Rolex and Baume & Mercier brands) as well as jewels from the well-known Bulgari brand, with an estimated value of no less than 150,000 euros; ‒current accounts, companies, real estate (4 apartments and 2 large agricultural lands, with an estimated value of approximately 800,000 euros and cars – motorcycles (two Toyota Rav 4 cars from 2020 and BMW series 3 cabrio coupé from 2022, as well as a Ducati motorcycle Monster of 2020), made available to the Judicial Administrator, appointed by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Crotone for the obligations within his competence.