Molfetta, Mayor Minervini under house arrest: “He ran the city as if it were his own property”

An exchange of notes in the office, then put through the shredder. For judge Marina Chiddo , this is the most emblematic image of what has happened in recent years in Molfetta : the protagonists are the mayor Tommaso Minervini and the municipal manager Lidia De Leonardis , both now under house arrest. "A mortifying image, which shows that the two are discussing something illicit", we read in the order signed by the investigating judge, reported by Repubblica Bari .

The precautionary measure was triggered as part of a major investigation conducted by the Guardia di Finanza and coordinated by prosecutors Francesco Aiello , Marco Gambardella and Francesco Tosto of the Trani Public Prosecutor's Office. Interdictory measures were ordered for two other municipal managers, Alessandro Binetti and Domenico Satalino , while port entrepreneur Vito Leonardo Totorizzo was banned from contracting with the public administration for a year. Michele Pizzo , lieutenant of the Finance Police, will not be able to live in Molfetta. However, the measures were rejected for municipal official Mario Morea and Tommaso Messina , the mayor's driver.

The accusations and the “Minervini method”

The list of alleged crimes is extensive: embezzlement, corruption, bid rigging, disclosure of official secrets, fraud, swindle and forgery. A system that, according to the investigating judge, revolved around the figure of the mayor: "He has always acted as the sole owner of the public good, of the city, to be managed as if it were a private thing".

At the center of the investigation is the 12 million euro tender for the port dock, which was allegedly promised to the entrepreneur Totorizzo even before the publication of the tender. In exchange, he was supposed to support the mayor's electoral campaign for the 2022 administrative elections. In a wiretap, Minervini says: "The tender is yours." And again: "Let's get busy for the 26th," the day of the runoff against former magistrate Pasquale Drago . The support, however, was materialized in just 51 votes: too few, but according to the judge, sufficient to demonstrate the corrupt agreement.

Totorizzo, in the end, backed out, declaring that it would be “a bloodbath” to continue with the project. But the investigation does not stop there: alterations of administrative procedures would also emerge in the construction of the market area and in the Porta Futuro tender.

Misdirections and bugs

Singular and serious, according to the order, is the episode involving the financier Pizzo , who allegedly informed the mayor and managers of the existence of an investigation. Minervini and De Leonardis then allegedly searched for and found some Finance bugs in the offices, reporting them to the Carabinieri, simulating a plot against them, despite knowing they were under investigation. This behavior, for the investigating judge, confirms the risk of tampering with evidence.

Reactions and defense

“We expected a different outcome,” commented lawyer Tommaso Poli , Minervini’s defender along with his colleague Mario Malcangi , “we thought we had clarified everything in the interrogation on May 2. We will appeal to the Review Court. The mayor acted honestly and in the interest of the city.” The lawyers also emphasized that “the Prosecutor’s Office recognized that there was no personal advantage for the mayor.”

But for the judge, the network of patronage built by the mayor is still able to influence the administrative activity. This is why she ordered precautionary measures, especially for the most serious crimes of corruption and bid rigging.

Commissionership and new balances

With the arrest, Tommaso Minervini 's suspension from the role of mayor was automatically triggered. The government functions will be temporarily assumed by his deputy, Piergiovanni Nicola . The Municipality, overwhelmed by a judicial scandal that has already severely affected the public image of the administration, is now awaiting the outcome of the appeal and the next moves of the judiciary.

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