House arrest has been revoked for Vincenzo Astorino, from San Pietro a Maida, arrested on 25 March on charges of usury against an agricultural entrepreneur in the area. This was ordered by the investigating judge of Lamezia Terme, Rosario Aracri, excluding the circumstantial gravity of the alleged crime.
The arrest and kidnapping
At the time of carrying out the measure, the carabinieri of the operational and mobile radio unit of the Girifalco Company, who had conducted the investigations on behalf of the Lametina Prosecutor’s Office, had found approximately 130 thousand euros in cash in the suspect’s possession, hidden in a chicken coop. Circumstance initially considered to support the accusatory hypothesis.
The defense and the review
Astorino, assisted by lawyers Aldo Ferraro and Antonio Procopio, maintained from the beginning that the relationship with the entrepreneur concerned the sale of a tractor that was never delivered, despite the payment made.
The Court of Review of Catanzaro subsequently annulled the seizure of the money, recognizing its lawful origin, while confirming the house arrest measure.
The defense investigations
Subsequently, the defenders carried out in-depth defense investigations, also making use of the technical support of Dr. Antonio Andrea Miriello for the transcription of wiretaps initially considered irrelevant, but which would have confirmed the version provided by the suspect.
The investigating judge’s decision
Precisely the results of these defensive activities led the investigating judge to revoke the precautionary measure, deeming the “untruthfulness of the story offered by the offended person” and its unreliability demonstrated.
The provision also highlights how the lifestyle of the offended person, which also emerged from the wiretaps, was incompatible with a state of need sufficient to justify the use of usurious loans. Further documentary evidence acquired from public bodies and banking institutions would have finally confirmed the version provided by Astorino from the beginning.